


The Stone Calls to Us: Part 1

by rileyriddle



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Met on the Ark Station (The 100), Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, F/M, Jealous Finn Collins, Love Triangles, Rewrite Season 1, Secret Relationship, Slow Burn Bellamy Blake/Clarke Griffin, The 100 (TV) Season 1, Unrequited Crush
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:34:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 30,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27870837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rileyriddle/pseuds/rileyriddle
Summary: Clarke and Bellamy develop superpowers after an explosion set off by a mysterious stone.After 97 years in space, the human race is returning to the ground. Clarke Griffin and Bellamy Blake struggle against the challenges Earth has to offer them, as well as each other. A secret unites them and leads them further into a world of unknowns. Was Jake Griffin’s death really an accident? Who was the woman in red? How would they make peace with the grounders? How did it all connect back to the secret research project her father was working on?
Relationships: Bellamy Blake & Clarke Griffin, Clarke Griffin/Wells Jaha, Finn Collins & Raven Reyes, Finn Collins/Clarke Griffin, Octavia Blake & Lincoln
Comments: 11
Kudos: 11





	1. Returned to Sender

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: All rights and characters to belong to the creators of The 100 (TV series) and Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Clarke struggled to wake up. The world around her floated in and out of her ears, beckoning her back to it. Hands held her, lifted her and the darkness she lived in swayed from side to side.

 _Clarke! Clarke!_

She knew that voice from somewhere. A deep voice but a young voice. Her eyes refused to open; her limbs dead weight against the hard surface beneath her. Why couldn’t she wake up? Everything felt slow, her breathing, the blood in her veins, her thoughts. A heavy sedative kept her under, the work of her mother, it all came back to her now. The darkness in which her mind inhabited felt cold. A vast and echoing space with no discernible edges. She continued to urge her eyes to open, trying to break through the sedative’s hold. Her eyelids lifted slightly, a small flitter of light blinding the dark but for only a second. She relaxed and resigned to waiting it out. Her body would break down the sedative soon enough.

The darkness felt fuller; another presence filled the space. Her mind reached out to it, slowly inching closer. The moment she touched the edges of the strange presence; the darkness fell away.

 _No longer in her mind, she stood in bright white light. A glittering cityscape spread out in front of her. It looked like the photos in their history texts, like the old cities from before the bombs. It looked real but something about the way the air sat on her skin or didn’t for that matter, had her convinced otherwise._

_“Who are you?” A calm, female voice broke the silence._

It startled her awake. Wells filled her view, sweat beading down the sides of his face. He leaned over her as she tried to sit up. Her head hurt like a white-hot poker had pierced her brain, right in the middle of her forehead.

“Thank goodness, you’re ok.” he pulled her to his chest, his arms pressing her hard against him. He smothered her, mentally rather than physically.

 _She’s ok, she’s ok! His fast heartbeat began to slow as he held her. The feel of her body against his, his larger arms wrapped around her smaller frame, calmed him. It felt right, safe._

She shrank from his thoughts, pushing his body away from her. She needed to stand, to move, to find fresh air. She felt her way along the wall, the pain blurring her vision. She stumbled towards the large rectangle of light to her right. 

Clarke stepped carefully out of the dropship. She blinked until her eyes adjusted. The pain only slightly subsided as the warm air filled her lungs. Ninety-seven inner voices sang out as they spread around the landing site. The teens were excited to be on Earth, but their excitement was too loud for Clarke. The world started to tilt. Whoops and laughter slashed across her mind. She stumbled off the side of the ramp, falling heavily against the dropship. Her vision pinpricked and bile soured her mouth; one, two, three times. She sank carefully down, avoiding the puddle of bile soaking into the grass and rested her head between her knees. Sharp aches reverberated off her skull, the voices of those around her echoing in a cacophony of pain. With a deep breath, she focused on quieting the noise, listened to the sound of her breathing until it was all she heard.

“Clarke?” Wells rested a concerned hand on her shoulder. She shrugged him off. 

“I’m fine, Wells.” Clarke stood, still a little unsteady. Her shoulder remembered his brief touch and her antipathy towards him grew. Why was he here? He should have been back on the Ark.

The after-effects of the sedative were unpleasant. For the first time in a month, she was completely awake and fully aware of her surroundings. It overwhelmed her. She gazed at the world around them. Beautifully warm colours alight by the bright sunshine, the likes of which she had never seen with her own eyes. Despite the pain and nausea, a smile formed, and she savoured the natural taste of the air. Instead of the dry acidic metal of the Ark’s oxygen, Earth tasted sweet and full of moisture.

Wells squatted beside her with a map, “We need to figure out where we are…and how far away Mt Weather is.” 

While he focused on the map, she noticed the metal bracelet on her left arm. Her wrist beneath it stung as something dug into her skin. By the look of it, it was a biomonitor. She wanted more than anything to rip the damned thing off, but she knew the importance of the Ark knowing they had survived. If a group of teenagers could survive down on earth, then everyone else on the Ark could too. 

“C’mon, let’s see if we can find out where we are.” Wells folded the map and stuffed it into a backpack.

“I’m gonna just sit a little longer.” Clarke lowered herself back down. He waited only a moment before conceding and set off to get his bearings. She caught the wispy ends of his thoughts as he headed into the trees.

_She’ll be ok for a few minutes. Just find out where we are._

His concern for her fuelled her resentment towards him. 

“Hey, you alright?” Bellamy appeared next to her, crouching down to her level. He looked the same as the last time she saw him, tanned skin, dark curls and an ever-present frown. 

“Yeah, I’m just…adjusting.” she pressed the palms of her hands into her eyes, trying to relieve the pressure behind them. 

“What’d they do to you?” his voice tensed.

“Extra strength sedatives…kept me from…you know.” After her confrontation with Jaha, her mother had kept her under some form of sedation to varying states of coherence. Clarke couldn’t remember much, nor did she know how long it had been since her arrest. It could have been days or months for all she knew.

“Fucking assholes” he cursed under his breath. With a wry smile, she dropped her hands. Her eyes met his and the world in front of her fell away.

 _The warm green and yellow of Earth became the cold grey of the Ark, specifically the Medical Wing. Through the glass of the ICU doors, she saw herself, strapped to a metal table. Jackson moved around her unconscious form, injecting needles, attaching wires and monitoring devices. Her mother poised at her side, checking pupil dilation with a small torch. She felt fear, not just for the Clarke on the table but for herself –_

“Clarke!” Bellamy hissed at her. She pulled back to the present moment.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to –,”

His memory had reached out at her, drawing her into it.

“Stay out of my head, Clarke. I mean it.” he kept his eyes down, slight fear but stronger anger rolled off him _._ She had learned there was no subtle way to read Bellamy. Somehow, he always knew when she was, as he put it, snooping around in his head.

A small brunette bounced over and clung to Bellamy, pulling him up by the arm. “Bell! This is incredible.” The girl flittered off just as quickly as she came. Octavia, she recognised her face from Bellamy’s memories. 

“She’s so happy, finally free.” Clarke mused as Octavia started chatting with some of the other delinquents.

His sharp anger hit her once again, like a wave of heat. “That goes for my sister as well. Stay. Out.”

Clarke rolled her eyes at him, “I don’t have to read her to know. You can see it on her face.”

Bellamy watched his sister; Clarke felt his anger dissipating. “Free…but for how much longer?” His eyes met her again. She resisted the pull of his memories, leaving his thoughts alone as he walked away from her. 

He was right. Easing back, she let her head rest against the warm metal wall of the dropship. The sunlight soothed her skin and she welcomed it. If the rest of Ark did follow them down, what would that mean for her and Bellamy? Her eyes grew heavy, the bright orange behind her eyelids quickly sank into a deep black.

*** * * * ***

**~ Three Months After the Accident ~**

Bellamy sat in the same hard chair as always in Dr Griffin’s exam room. She sat across from him, scrolling through her tablet. He tried to appear relaxed, but his agitation threatened to get the best of him. He rubbed a thumb over the inside of his elbow, soothing the ache that had set in. It was the same every week, after work, he came to the medical wing and let Dr Griffin perform various tests, a cognitive test, a physical, full-body scans and lastly, a blood test.

“So, any changes since we last spoke?” Dr Griffin looked up, regarding him with a passive smile.

“No.” he avoided her eyes; they were too similar to Clarke’s.

“Bellamy, I need you, to be honest with me.” she sounded tired, a change from her usual impatient. 

“What makes you think I’m not.” he spared her a glance; ashy blue coloured the skin under her eyes.  
“Both of you have exhibited signs of a physiological mutation since the accident. Clarke has displayed superhuman capabilities since then. By the logical conclusion, you must have developed some yourself. We’ve been at this for a month now.”

He had developed superhuman abilities, but he wasn’t about to let anyone find out, not after what they did to Clarke, “As I told you, I knew about Clarke, but I don’t have whatever powers she has.”

Dr Griffin smiled knowingly, “So you have powers she doesn’t?”

Bellamy laughed, more of a short sarcastic cough. The older women reminded him very much of Clarke. Jaha had her locked up in the skybox. It worried him to think of what they had done to keep her locked up so long. “How is Clarke?”

Dr Griffin stiffened at the mention of her daughter, “She’s fine.”

Bellamy didn’t like the clipped tone she used. “Is she really?”

She didn’t answer him, just gently placed the tablet on the shiny steel desk beside her. He tried every week, for the past month to find out any information on Clarke but Dr Griffin was never forthcoming. At night, he tried to sneak into the skybox, slipping unseen through the corridors. Jaha had doubled the security covering Solitary and getting access became near impossible, even for him.

Finally, she spoke, “We’ve run all the same test on you as we did Clarke. Based on Clarke’s progression, you should have noticed a change by now.”

“I guess I’m the exception.” he flashed her a cocky smile.

She frowned, large creases forming between her brows. She knew he was lying but he knew she couldn’t prove it, “I know you care about her and lying to me about all of this isn’t going to help her.”

“She doesn’t need help, there’s nothing wrong with her.” he crossed his arms to stop them from sparking up right in front of her. The familiar surge of electricity that accompanied his anger threatened to give him away.

“You don’t know that. What’s happened to the both of you is a mystery, we still aren’t even certain what caused all of this.”

“No, you’re just ignoring the obvious. Your husband was working on something that night and when all the alarms went haywire, it was the source! Why are you even bothering with me?”

She leaned forward in her chair, “The Nexus Stone was never recovered. You and Clarke are all we have to go on.”

“I know you know this is wrong. There are only so many tests you can perform and so far, they’ve given you nothing. You can’t keep Clarke locked up forever either.”

“Clarke’s actions got her arrested, it had nothing to do with -,”

“You’re just trying to control her because you’re afraid of her powers!” The quiet that followed his shouting made him nervous. Dr Griffin may not have completely agreed with Jaha on the situation, but she was still a member of the council. She could still get him floated or worse, Octavia.

“Same time next week, Mr Blake.” She dismissed him quietly and departed quickly.

When Bellamy arrived back at his quarters, he stood just inside the doorway. The silence grew so loud, tears welled in his eyes. He had no one. It had been over a year since his mother had been floated and Octavia locked away. Meeting Clarke had given him a distraction from his loss and loneliness, and she had been taken from him too.

A sharp knock at his door summoned a groan from deep in his chest. The sight of Commander Shumway outside his door alarmed him but upon seeing no one else with his former superior, he relaxed slightly. If he was to be arrested, they’d have sent more people. His alarm was quickly replaced with anger.

“Cadet Blake.” Shumway greeted him, as if nothing had happened, as if he hadn’t been kicked out of the guard for his crimes.

“You’ve got some nerve, coming in here after pushing the button that floated my mother.” Bellamy stood his ground, refusing to let the man pass into his home.

Shumway’s lips pressed into a thin line, “I was following orders.”

“What do you want?”

“You were a great guardsman Bellamy. You would do anything to protect your sister, yes?”

The choice hadn’t been a difficult one. Shumway left him with a gun and his old guards’ uniform. He had twenty minutes to kill the chancellor and get to the dropship. Once dressed, he stood in the centre of his home and took one last look. At the table where his mother used to sew for hours on end, at the bed where he slept and finally at the floor panel under which Octavia used to hide. With a deep inhalation, he closed his eyes and melted. His skin rippled until it was no longer visible. From there it had been simple. He walked unseen through the halls of the Ark like he did most nights but instead of ending up at the skybox, he stopped at the door to the Chancellor’s quarters. The door was unlocked, just as Shumway had said. He opened it slowly, inching inside the spacious room. Jaha sat at his desk, none the wiser to the intrusion. Bellamy tiptoed closer to the man, his hand firm around the grip of the gun. He had never killed anyone before, never thought he would have to but there he was. He raised his arm and clenched his muscles to keep from shaking. He had to do it, for Octavia.

A loud bang and he was gone. He shoved the gun into the waistband of his pants and bolted out the door. He ran, as fast as he could while remaining unseen, towards the dropship hangar. He came up behind a line of teens flanked by guardsmen, waiting to board the vessel. He hugged the wall and edged around the bodies. Once onboard he waited against the far wall. He caught sight of his sister as a guardsman directed her up the ladder. He smiled at before remembering she couldn’t see him.

After the last delinquent had been shown up the ladder, the guardsman and those prepping the ship for launch, exited the ship and sealed the doors. He took a moment to observe his surroundings. He was on the bottom level, empty except two seats. One of them was already occupied with the limp form of a certain blond. Clarke. She was buckled in, head slumped sideways and arms dangling at her sides. No wonder she hadn’t tried to escape lock-up, it appeared they had made sure she couldn’t. He buckled himself in next to her. Soon they were plummeting to Earth.

Once the dropship landed, the delinquents descended to the bottom level. Bellamy had already gotten out of his seat. He leaned against the wall near the dropship door, trying the blend in, hoping no one noticed he didn’t belong there. As he watched the teens yelling over each other, unsure of what to do, he scanned their worried faces, searching for his sister. His eyes returned to Clarke. Why was she still unconscious? The tranquiliser guards used for subduing perpetrators should have worn off. Before he could think twice about checking on her, someone called out his name.

“Bellamy?!” Octavia’s face lit up as she jumped into his waiting arms. He savoured how it felt to hold her again. Her small frame tucked into his chest., “What are you doing here?”

“I heard you were being sent to the ground, I snuck on.” he held her at arms-length, “You got bigger.” he chuckled as she punched his arm lightly.

“Hey! Move out of the way so we can open this door” A shorter teen called out from the back.

“I haven’t seen my brother for months, back off!”

The small space filled with talk,

“No one has a brother.”

“That’s the girl from under the floor.”

Octavia coiled, ready to pounce. Bellamy gripped her arm, “O, leave it. You’re no longer the girl under the floor. You’re the first person on the ground in a hundred years.” he tugged the door release down and squinted at the bright sunlight as Octavia descended the ramp.

“We’re back bitches!” her triumphant cry spurred the rest of the delinquents out of the dropship.

“Clarke!”

Turning back Bellamy saw the Chancellors son, Wells Jaha, unbuckling Clarke from her seat. He watched as the younger boy lifted her from the chair, taking great care to lay her flat on the floor. She still wasn’t awake. Wells fussed over her, checking her pulse and breathing. He fought the urge to go over there, check on her himself. He was glad to see her but also hesitant. Their last conversation hadn’t been a pleasant one. 

*** * * * ***

Clarke woke with a start. Her head rolled to the side and she came upon the sight of Wells struggling to stand. Between the bodies of those gathered around, she saw a boy standing over Wells, ready to knock him down. Before she could even think to intervene, another boy dropped down as if from nowhere. Clarke frowned at the sight of Wells, as he pushed himself up to stand on one foot. He hobbled over towards where she sat. 

“What happened?” she sprang up to help him.

“We need to find Mt Weather but not everyone seems to get that.” he sank heavily against the blackened metal of the dropship. The boy who had stood up for Wells approached them. She had seen him around the Ark before but knew him best as ‘Spacewalker’. Clarke found herself admiring him as he came to a stop next to them. His name floated across her mind’s eyes, Finn.

“So, we going?” Finn raised his eyebrow expectantly at Wells, who shook his head in return. Clarke dipped into Wells’ racing thoughts to catch herself up. The dropship communications systems burned on re-entry and Mt Weather was a ten-hour trek, at least.

“I can’t walk on this” he gestured to his ankle, trying to carefully remove his shoe. Clarke crouched down to help him. From what Wells knew, Mt Weather was a government bunker, large enough to house the hundred and hopefully had enough usable supplies to get them through.

“I’ll go.” Clarke stood up and reached for his backpack. He grabbed it and tried to pull it from her hand, but she was stronger, much stronger.

“How are the two of you supposed to bring back enough supplies for all of us?” Wells huffed. Concern for her safety dominated his thoughts. She was always on his mind, to some degree or another. It would be flattering if she felt the same, but she didn’t. It was annoying more than anything. She pulled away, remembering why she stayed out of Wells’ head.

Finn had stepped away and returned with two, very nervous looking boys in his grip. “Make that four.”

“Make that five.” Octavia appeared beside them, beaming at Finn. Clarke caught the tail end of her thinking, Octavia thought Finn was attractive. Clarke agreed.

Bellamy stood behind his sister, his familiar frown in full force., “O, it could be dangerous.”

“We just came down here in a one-hundred-year-old dropship, can’t be more dangerous than that.” 

Clarke listened for the names of the two non-volunteers in their anxious thoughts. Jasper and Monty. She caught sight of Finn’s wrist as he held Jasper in place. His biomonitor was scratched at the join.

“Did you try and take that off?” She asked him. His memory of the act flashed across her eyes,

 _He jammed a piece of broken off metal into the tiny space and tried to pry it open. It wouldn’t budge and the metal slipped, scratching a black line into the silver band._

“Yeah, so?”

“Don’t. These bracelets are the only communication we have with the Ark, take it off and everyone up there will think you’re dead.”

As if a lightbulb had come on in his head, Bellamy’s interest peaked at her comment. She did not like the plan beginning to form in his mind. His train of thought took a sudden turn. So far, he was still the only one that seemed to notice her intrusions. The sharp stabbing pain from earlier returned suddenly. She swayed, slightly dazed by the pain.

“Are you good?” Finn reached out to steady her. The pain pulsated; unlike any kind of pain, she’d felt before. The pain didn’t feel physical, it felt mental like her thoughts hurt. She saw an image,

_A glowing yellow stone distorted by the surface of the water it lay under._

“You look like you’re in pain.” Bellamy stated, the tension in his voice returned, “Are you hurt?”

“I am in pain.” She hissed as it continued, like pins sticking into her forehead and through to her brain, “I swear I just saw the Nex-,” she stopped herself. Bellamy tilted his head, eyes narrowing slightly.

“Saw what?” Octavia asked.

Bellamy changed the subject before she could answer, “It doesn’t matter, we need to focus on getting those supplies.”

“Oh, now you think it’s a good idea?” Clarke snapped, her frustration mounting. She had heard a tiny fragment of his plan before he had redirected his thinking. He didn’t want the Ark to know they were alive. He wanted her out of the way so he could think freely.

“I never said it wasn’t.” he bit back at her.

“Then you should come with us.” she didn’t want to leave him alone with the others, but she also needed put some distance between herself and all the screaming voices in her head.

“How about the privileged do the work for once.” he smirked, knowing he had won.

She stuck up her middle finger at him as she spoke to the others, “C’mon then, let’s go.” Her irritability steadily climbed as the pounding in her head persisted. 

Wells gripped her hand, pulling her attention back to him, “Clarke, you need to be careful.”

She regarded him for a moment. His fingers felt too warm against hers, the pressure of his grip too soft, she felt the sudden need to pull away.

“You shouldn’t have come here.” she followed the others and tried to ignore the guilt growing in her chest. 

*** * * * ***

Octavia ran ahead of them, marvelling at the trees and plants. Clarke had to admit, Earth was more vibrant than she could have ever imagined. Though she found it hard to enjoy given the circumstances. Her time spent in the skybox had messed with her mental endurance. Before, she had been able to easily tune in and out of people’s thoughts. Currently, she felt the blood pumping around her brain anytime her mind dipped into anyone else’s. The imminent death of everyone on the Ark also weighed on her, not to mention the strange visions she’d had since landing. The little energy she had acquired from her nap was already fading. Octavia slowed, allowing Clarke to catch up to her. 

“So, how do you know my brother?” she asked.

“Uh…” Clarke debated how to answer, “did you hear about the engineering lab accident a while back?”

She shook her head, “No”

“Well, there was an explosion a few months back and he and I were both there.”

“Wait? Bellamy got blown up?!” she pulled Clarke to a stop, “I didn’t know about that.”

Clarke sensed Octavia’s unease but held firm against the pull of the younger girl’s consciousness.

“Why’d you get locked up?” she continued. 

“It complicated.” Clarke pressed on ahead, not eager to talk about her incarceration.

“Do you really think they’ll follow us down? My dad would go nuts for all these plants.” Monty spoke to Jasper as they trailed behind.

“My question is, why today? After ninety-seven years, why send us down here now?” Finn looked to all of them, expecting a response.

“Maybe they found something on a satellite.” Monty guessed.

“Yeah, like a weather satellite or something.” Jasper agreed.

“The Ark is dying,” Clarke called over her shoulder. The other teens stunned to a halt as she spoke, “The life support system is failing, they’ve got three months, maybe four now that we’re down here.”

Their shock wore off and they hurried after her, Finn coming up beside her. “So that’s the secret they locked you up to keep? Why they keep you in solitary?”

Clarke thought about telling them the truth, not the whole truth but Finn had just offered her an easy out, so she took it. “They couldn’t trust me to keep my mouth shut so they shut it for me. My father was the engineer who found the problem and was overseeing the attempt at repairing it. He thought the people had a right to know, Jaha and the council disagreed. They thought it would cause a panic. I don’t know exactly what my father had planned but I knew he was going to go public. All of their attempts to work the problem failed and he thought if more people knew, the better chance they’d have of coming up with a solution.”

“So, what happened?” Jasper asked.

“Didn’t your father die in that solar flare accident?” Finn cut in.

“Some accident,” she scoffed, “but yeah.”

“What do you mean?”

“It doesn’t matter now,” Bitter anger boiled under the surface of her skin, threatening to spill over, her fingers tingling. Her father’s death had not been an accident, she was certain of that. “Bottom line, we’re down here and luckily the radiation hasn’t killed us, but starvation and exposure just might. So, let’s just focus on getting to Mount Weather.”

“They’re going to kill more people, aren’t they? To buy more time.” Monty’s voice wavered, strong fear for his family radiated from him. Her head throbbed as his fear crashed against her mind, like waves against the rocks. She faltered for a moment, closing her eyes to focus. After a few deep inhalations, the pain subsided.

“Do you need to sit down?” Finn shifted to stand closer.

“No, I’m alright.” she hoped her weakened control proved only temporary.

*** * * * ***

Bellamy relished the feel of the rain on his skin. After a day of sweating under the hot sun, the cool wash of water brought sweet relief. The closest he had ever come to the feeling was in the shower.

“We need to collect this!” Wells shouted over the cheers of the other teens.

“Whatever the hell you want.” Bellamy replied.

Wells proved to be a problem. Bellamy had felt the doubt his words seeded in the other teens. Bellamy needed them to follow him, not Chancellor Jr. Clarke was onto him, so he had taken advantage of her absence. A few choice words in the right ears and he had the delinquents primed to follow his every word. Murphy and his crew had pried wristbands off the more rebellious teens in the group. Not all of them were convinced but he’d get them to come around eventually. He needed the Ark to think they hadn’t made it down alive. The sooner he dealt with Wells, the better off he’d be. 

“I don’t understand what she sees in you.” Wells eyes him like he couldn’t quite make out what was in front of him.

“Excuse me?”

“Clarke. I get that you saved her life and all, but…” he shook his head.

Had Clarke talked to Wells about him? He wondered what she could have said. Dr Griffin already thought he and Clarke were secretly dating due to their discreet behaviour. Their secrecy had more to do with their shared experience than anything else, but Clarke hadn’t told Wells of her abilities. Bellamy squared his shoulders, his arms crossing over his chest, “Jealous much?”

“No. She’s my best friend and I care about her, that’s all.” his reaction sparked the need inside Bellamy to win, to show Wells he was the better man.

“Oh, I know exactly how much you care about her. She does too and she doesn’t feel the same.”

“You’re lying.” his self-assuredness fell away at the comment, a crack in his composed demeanour that Bellamy could take advantage of.

“Who do you think she was hanging out with when you two weren’t? All those times she avoided you?” What he said wasn’t strictly true. He and Clarke didn’t spend too much time together, he worked, and she studied.

“She would never date someone like you and even if she did, she would have told me.”

“Who said anything about dating? As you said, I saved her life, that kind of heroics tends to turn a girl on.”

He enjoyed pushing the younger boy’s buttons, to watch his face contort in a jealous rage. He laughed as Wells stormed off.

Bellamy retreated into the dropship, looking for a place to crash. Tiredness sat heavy in his bones; it had been a long time since he last slept. A strange feeling hung in the air as he laid on the hard metal floor of the dropship, tucked in the corner where no one would notice him. He had woken up on the Ark, in his own bed, in the place he’d shared with his mother and sister. He would never see that room again. He had spent his whole life living in a metal box in space. Earth was expansive, bright and full of life. Down here, he and Octavia could finally have a life. The Ark coming down would get in the way of that. He’d be locked up or executed if they caught him. He needed a plan and getting the hundred to follow him was the start. He tried not to worry too much about Octavia. As much as he didn’t like the idea of her out in a strange place at night, she was with Clarke and that meant safe. Clarke didn’t exactly owe him any favours, but she wouldn’t let anything happen to his sister, at least, that’s what he hoped. He had been an asshole to Clarke.

*** * * * ***

“Can you walk?”

Octavia nodded, still shaking slightly as Clarke wrapped the jagged wound on the younger girl’s thigh. It had taken all of Clarke’s self-control to not use her abilities to save Octavia. Thankfully Jasper had acted quickly, and they were able to distract the creature long enough for Finn and Monty to pull them from the water.

“It’s getting dark. We should look out for somewhere to camp for the night.” Finn suggested as he surveyed the woods around them. Clarke agreed. They had started their trek to Mt Weather late in the day, later than she initially thought. 

“How much further to Mt Weather?” Monty handed Clarke another scrap of cloth.

“A few hours I’m guessing.” she tied a tight knot with the cloth to keep the bandage in place and proceeded to help Octavia put her pants back on.

They pushed forward until they found a suitable place to stop for the night. Octavia was brave, barely saying a word about how much pain Clarke knew she was in. They settled under the cover of some large fallen trees; the sun had already set.

“Wish we had something to make a fire with.” Jasper squinted at a piece of damp bark pinched between his fingers.

“I guess we’re lucky it’s not winter down here yet.” Monty fiddled with the petals of another brightly coloured flower he had found along the way.

Clarke focused on the silence, trying to calm her racing thoughts and ignore the anxiousness of the others. She thought back to when her ability had first presented. Those early days had consisted of migraines, sensitivity to noise and bright lights and endless diagnostic testing at her mother’s insistence. It took her a few days to figure out what was happening to her but by then it was too late to deter her mother. Clarke spent four days in the medical ward having her brain scanned and participated in numerous cognitive function tests. All her results proved negative for any fatal abnormality, so eventually, her mother attributed her discomfort to the lasting effects of her head injury. After that, it took a few weeks, but she learned to control her abilities.

“Hey, do any of you know how long it’s been since I was arrested?” she asked, trying to avoid eye contact with them.

“You don’t know?” Finn’s brow creased, “a month I think.”

“Don’t they have a clock in solitary?” Octavia sniggered.

“If they do, I wouldn’t know.” she griped, picking at her wristband.

“What do you mean?” Finn asked.

Clarke felt the eyes of the others on her, she could see her guarded demeanour reflected in their thoughts. The strain of reading others had become less painful as the day went on, but it still made her uncomfortable. Clarke barely remembered the past month. Hazy memories of a cramped cell, a hard surface beneath her, needles in her arms, guards brandishing shock batons and the hum and beeping of machines.

“I heard a rumour about that, from one of the guards, is it true?” Jasper asked. The rumour he referred to floated across all their minds. It appeared Jaha had kept the reason for her arrest under wraps and in the absence of an explanation, people had come to their own conclusions.

“What rumour?” she feigned ignorance. 

“That you were sedated twenty-four-seven because you were dangerous…because you attacked the Chancellor.” Jasper fidgeted, his curiosity winning out over his fear the rumour was true.

She rolled her eyes, “I’m not dangerous and that’s not true.” It was sort of true but she barely remembered the event. It all blurred together.

“Then what’d you do?” Finn asked.

“I argued with Jaha and I…gave them no other choice, I guess. I wasn’t the most cooperative prisoner.” Clarke couldn’t explain it to them. Even on Earth, far away from the Ark, she still had to be careful.

 *** * * * ***

**~ Three Months Before Earth ~**

Clarke sat at her father’s workstation, quietly sketching. She was preparing for a medical apprenticeship with her mother but all she wanted to do was draw, hence why she spent more time than necessary on her cross-section of the heart. Sadly, being an artist didn’t serve the continuation of Ark function, so following in her mother’s footsteps seemed like the next best option.

Her father’s engineering lab was small, but he did keep it tidy. Multiple monitor’s and a glass top keyboard were situated to her right, serving as the main computer station. Directly behind her, on the opposite wall, an expanse of built-in draws and storage for various materials. A square workbench took up most of the space in the centre of the room, covered in tools and disassembled mechanisms. Through the door to her left was a control room, where her father was running some sort of tests on his latest project. She glanced up at the viewing window built into the chamber wall. Beyond it was said latest classified project. Clarke wasn’t allowed to know what it was but so long as she didn’t say anything or ask any questions, her father let her hang out in his lab. From what she had overheard, it was a kind of yellow stone or crystal that could produce its own energy.

The door opened with a discernible click. A young man leaned into the room, looking around cautiously.

“Oh, sorry, I can come back later…” he mumbled; his eyes cast down as he spoke to her. His grey overalls were smeared with dust and grime and his shoulders sagged as he leaned on the door.

“No, it’s fine.” Clarke smiled slightly and turned back to her work. He pushed the door open wider and pulled in a cleaning cart, the wheels clacked as they rolled across the floor. She glanced up at the young man, she had seen him around before but couldn’t remember where. He had his back to her as he started unscrewing the hatch of the garbage shoot. He started wiping down the chute with an already dirty rag before reaching inside, there must have been something jammed in there. It was then she remembered. Bellamy Blake, the guy who had the illegal sister. His face had remained a prominent feature on their newsfeed after his mother had been floated.

Glancing at the clock on her father’s desk, she saw it was nearly midnight.

“Hey Dad?” she called out while gathering her things.

“Yeah, kiddo?”

“I’m headed home, it’s late. What about you?”

“No, I’m going to be here for a while it seems. Urgent work order.” he emerged through the adjoining door, scrolling through his tablet. He looked exhausted. He had been working around the clock for the past month. He moved past Clarke, taking her place at his workstation. The janitor whacked the hatch into place, catching her father’s attention. Clarke noticed his eyes flick to the window. He quickly turned to his computer, a few quick keystrokes and the glass shifted from clear to black, blocking the chamber from view. 

“Ok, well-,” An emergency alarm sounded overhead, cutting her off, filling the room with a harsh high-pitched tone. An automated voice over the coms blared, _“Incoming solar flare. Report to your designated areas.”_

Her father swore quietly, “You need to get home.”

“Aren’t you coming?”

“No, I have to stay here. Don’t worry kiddo, just get going.” he appeared calm, but his movements were rushed. He tapped away at his computer, pulling up graphs and schematics and energy readouts. Before Clarke could move to leave, an alarm coming from the control room flashed and sounded. A bright yellow glow emitted from the doorway and grew increasingly brighter. Her father rushed across the room, “You need to go, both of you, quickly!”

“Dad! Wha –,”

“C’mon!” Bellamy grabbed Clarke by the elbow and urged her to move. She had, for a moment, forgotten he was there. Blinding light threw shadows against the door as they reached for it. A force knocked her forwards, her body lifted before slamming into the wall. The cold metal floor was suddenly beneath her. A white haze filled the air, sparks flashed, and debris settled around her.

*** * * * ***

Clarke woke to an unfamiliar sight. She gazed at the luminescent forest, a blue glow brightening the night.

“Sure is pretty.” Finn came to sit next to her. She smiled slightly at his remark, “Not so serious now, huh Princess.” Bellamy used to call her Princess, more to annoy her than flirt with her.

“It is beautiful but that doesn’t mean we’re safe.” she glanced back at the others, Monty curled up facing away from her, Jasper and Octavia were huddled together.

“Here.” he handed her a large waxy leaf, filled with water. She took a sip, grateful for the cool sensation that calmed her dry throat. She hadn’t had anything to drink all day.

Finn regarded the glowing forest around them, “Do you think this means we’ll grow two heads as well?”

A slight laugh escaped her; she couldn’t help it. The extent of the radioactivity left on the ground was a mystery. The two-headed deer they’d seen earlier worried her a bit.

“C’mon, I want to show you something.” he pulled her a short way away and knelt, pointing out what looked like a footprint in the damp ground.

“It seems to be bipedal by the way it moves, my guess- monkeys.”

Clarke again couldn’t contain her laughter. She vaguely listened as he continued to make his point. There was something about him that she liked, something in his face. She itched to delve into his thoughts, to find an answer to exactly why she felt so drawn to him but thought better of it. Bellamy hated it when she skipped the whole ‘ask questions and then let them answer’ part of a conversation. She needed to be more patient. It was incredible how second nature the ability had become to her in such a short time. At that moment, she was content to listen to him speak. 


	2. Earth Skills

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All rights and characters to belong to the creators of The 100 (TV series) and Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The Grounders had Jasper.

They had been running for hours, non-stop to reach the safety of the dropship. Octavia’s leg had started to bleed again, Monty and Finn had her between them, trying to spur her along. Almost like an echo, Clarke could still hear Jasper’s cries. In the quiet moments between her laboured breaths and heavy footfalls, his whispered voice sounded in the back of her mind.

_Help…help…_

He was still alive, she just hoped he stayed alive long enough for them to find him. If Finn hadn’t have pulled her away from the river, trying to urge her to safety, she would have chased after Jasper herself.

The sounds of camp grew louder as they came upon the clearing near the drop ship. The Hundred were gathered around the higher ground as Bellamy, Wells and Murphy stood in the centre. Wells had Murphy in his grip, a knife against his throat.

Clarke skidded to a stop a few feet from the two boys, both bloodied and sweaty from their fight, “Wells! Let him go!” Wells instantly dropped his hands. She noticed a strange look in his eye, one she had never seen before.

Finn and Monty carefully set Octavia down, Bellamy instantly rushing to her side. “What happened?!” his question directed at Clarke, more of an accusation.

“I’m fine Bell, it’s Jasper who needs help. We have to go after him!” Octavia was already trying to stand but he shoved her back down.

“What are you talking about?” he started peeling back the bandage on her leg to get a better look at the wound.

“Jasper was taken.” Monty piped up, still shaking from the adrenaline.

“We didn’t make it to Mount Weather. Jasper was attacked by Grounders. We aren’t alone down here.” Finn explained to the gathered crowd.

Clarke stopped listening and found herself entranced in Wells’ thoughts.

_His memories raced through her mind’s eyes, flashes of what had happened in her absence. Bellamy and Wells arguing, Wells being held down while Murphy prised his wristband off, Bellamy’s rallying speech by the fire. Whatever the hell we want._

The half-crazed look in his eye had her worried and she was right to be. Her hand found his arm, confirming his wristband was gone.

“You’re taking off your wristbands?!” she shouted, outraged by their stupidity. All eyes turned to her.

“Twenty-four and counting.” Murphy smirked, brandishing his crudely formed knife.

Clarke saw red. Everything in front of her became tinged with the vibrant scarlet shade. She felt her hands tingle, palpable tension forming between her fingers. Before she could act on her anger, Bellamy leaped from his sister’s side and planted himself between her and Murphy.

“Clarke!” he hissed at her. His torso all she could see as the red slowly receded, revealing the black of his t-shirt and the tan skin of his neck. She took a breath to steady herself. He watched her intently, trying to gauge her next move, one hand wrapped around her forearm. She tried to pull her arm from his grasp but he held firm. The last time she had felt such a surge of anger, Jaha had been on the receiving end.

Murphy forgotten; Clarke fought against the urge to strike Bellamy. He had inspired chaos. His words echoed back to her through the memories of the other delinquents.

 _Whatever the hell we want._

Bellamy offered them freedom but he didn’t offer them civility.

“The Ark is dying!” Clarke spoke loud enough for everyone to hear, “My father found a flaw in the life support system, irreparable. Those wristbands are the only way the Ark can tell if we’re surviving. The people up there - everyone’s families - need to know the earth is survivable, otherwise they’re all going to die! We need their help to survive down here.”

Bellamy, his hand still clamped around her arm, shouted even louder, “Don’t listen to her! She’s one of the privileged. When the Ark comes down, do you think any of you are going to be pardoned? To them, you are criminals but down here, we are free! We don’t need them. We can take care of ourselves!”

Clarke couldn’t stand to listen any longer. Smacking his hand, she marched away from the cheers of approval, needing a quiet moment to think. Bellamy was only thinking of himself, of what would happen to him if the Ark came down. Did he forget Clarke shared the same fate? Or did he truly believe her privileged status would mean her freedom?

Monty fell into step next to her, “What are we going to do?” he hurried to keep up with her rage fuelled strides.

“We’re going to get Jasper back.”

They reached the dropship. A section of parachute had been hung across the entrance. Inside, a mess of makeshift bedding lined the walls and a pile of scavenged materials littered the floor around the ladder. The blue-white lighting cast a cold glow, making the dark space seem even darker. Picking an empty spot just inside the door, Clarke tossed Wells’ pack aside and slide down the wall until she hit the cold floor. Monty squatted down in front of her.

_We need to save Jasper. I need to go back out there. How are we supposed to get him back with no weapons? The grounders have spears!_

Clarke huffed, berating herself for slipping so easily into Monty’s thoughts.

“So…you mentioned a plan?” Monty fingered the groove of the join on his wristband. 

“We know nothing about the people that have survived down here…any attempt to rescue Jasper could go seriously wrong.” she knew what she had to do. She had to save Jasper herself but it would not be easy to convince anyone to let her go alone. 

Monty winced slightly but continued to fixate on the wristband. A plan of his own had started to formulate. “I might be able to reverse engineer the wristbands to send a signal to the Ark.”

“Really?”

“Yeah…” he began looking around, searching for a place the start. “I can do it but I’m not sure how that helps Jasper.” he stopped and turned back to her.

“You worry about communicating with the Ark and I’ll worry about saving Jasper.” Clarke stood to meet him, raising a finger to his forehead, “What’s in here is going to save us all.”

He gave her a shy smile and with a small nod, he quickly ascended the ladder. Clarke exited the dropship to find Wells and Finn talking by the bottom of the ramp. Wells appeared ready to go but Finn, surprisingly, was backing out.

“Don’t worry man, I’ll look out for her.”

She caught the tail end of their conversation and rolled her eyes, “Neither of you are coming.”

“What? Clarke, you aren’t going by yourself!” Wells pulled her back as she tried to pass him, “Jasper was speared, these people are dangerous.”

She gritted her teeth and waited patiently for him to let her go, “I’ll have a better chance at getting him back, unseen, if I go alone.”

“Clarke, you are not going alone. What makes you think you'll be safe?

She ignored his question. Bellamy tended to Octavia where they had left her. Clarke made a beeline for the older boy. Her anger towards him hadn’t faded but if Wells was tagging along, she needed a buffer. Bellamy looked up, as if sensing her approach.

“What?” he snapped. 

“You’re coming with us to get Jasper.”

He finished tying off the bandage, coming to tower over her.

“Oh really? What makes you think I’m going to risk my life for some stupid kid?” his response served to infuriate her further but she squashed it down. 

“Jasper saved my life. He pulled me from the water. We can’t just abandon him.” Octavia’s plea seemed to sway Bellamy but only slightly.

“Fine. Just one condition,” he slide his arms into his jacket, “Take off your wristband.”

Clarke laughed humourlessly at his request, “You are being unbelievably selfish. The only way they’ll think I’m dead is if I’m actually dead.”

“That could be arranged, Princess.” It was an empty threat.

 _You want them to follow you and right now, they only think one of us is afraid._ Clarke projected her words in her frustration and immediately wished she hadn’t. Bellamy bristled at her voice in his head. He stared her down, his brown eyes calling to her mind.

“I am not afraid.” he whispered, moving closer so only she could hear, his breath hot on her face.

Her vision once again became painted over, his features cast in shades of red. _I know you are._

He flinched, a fact that pleased her. She pushed past him and no longer cared who came along. No matter what she was going to save Jasper.

Wells quickly caught up; his disapproval evident, “What was that?”

She offered him an innocent glance, not really wanting to explain.

“Don’t give me that. I know all about you and him.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I thought you had better standards. Why would you sleep with a guy like that? He’s a dick!”

Clarke relaxed, letting his stream of consciousness wash over her.

 _Fierce jealousy, resentment and self-doubt fuelled raged inside him. A conversation between him and Bellamy replayed through her eyes._ _They stood in the rain, talking about her. Bellamy insinuating he and Clarke were lovers._

She took a step back, trying to distance herself from the memory. “I can’t believe you think that of me! Even if that were true, you have no right to judge me.” she wondered what agenda Bellamy had. Why he would lie about something like that? 

“You and I don’t exactly talk anymore so I guess I’m not sure who to believe.”

“I am your best friend; you should believe me!”

“Some best friend you are. You don’t care about me Clarke; you just care about yourself!”

“Don’t blame me for this. You're the one with the problem!”

He faltered, unable to answer her. The awkward silence that stretched between them had her ready to run. She had avoided acknowledging his very obvious feelings for her and right then didn't seem like the time to get into it. 

“What’s the hold up? I thought we were in a hurry.” Bellamy swatted aside a low hanging branch, brandishing his gun with the other hand.

Murphy followed; his features schooled into a very bored expression, "The kid’s probably dead already, I don’t know why we’re even bothering.” 

“Why the face, Princess?” Bellamy feigned concern.

“Fuck you.” The edges of her vison became tinged with red for a brief moment. The boiling sea of rage bubbled under the skin again.

“Well, right now we have a pressing rescue mission on our hands but after we’re done with that…” He moved closer to her, putting himself between her and Wells.

She shoved him, hard, “Could you stop being an asshole for two seconds.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, am I embarrassing you? Don’t want the prince,” he gestured to Wells, “to know you’re mingling with the common folk?” his bitterness shocked her. She had never seen this side of him. 

“Stop it.” she warned him, her hands clawed at her sides, ready to strike. He squared up to her, smirking. 

“You call this a rescue?” Finn joined them, appearing from behind Murphy.

Clarke couldn’t hear the words that followed as the other’s spoke, her ears roared with the sound of Bellamy’s mind. He muffled the world, like a blanket covering a speaker.

_If I keep her distracted enough with Wells pathetic pining maybe I can get this done without her interfering. This rescue mission is a waste of time, I need to get the rest of those wrist bands off._

It all clicked into place. His confident smirk faded into a cold line when he noticed her presence within his head.

“C’mon.” Finn pulled at her sleeve and led her away. Once out of ear shot, he leaned over and mumbled her ear. “I don’t trust him.”

Clarke wasn’t sure she could trust Bellamy either.

*** * * * ***

**~ Three Months Before Earth~**

Her head ached painfully, so much so it was difficult to open her eyes. The artificial light stung and her eyelids felt incredibly heavy. She saw glimpses of the blue grey steel and the IV in the back her hand before slipping back into sleep.

Clarke dreamt in darkness. Voices echoed and reverberated around her but she couldn’t see anything. The voices were incoherent, a cacophony of whispers. It was extremely disorientating. A louder voice pierced through the rest. Her mother’s.

“Clarke?” She sounded far away, almost like she was talking to Clarke through a thick wall. “Clarke, honey, open your eyes.”

With great difficulty, Clarke lifted her eyelids to see her mother, Abby Griffin, leaning over her. Her worried eyes scanned back and forth, “How are you feeling?”

Clarke tried to focus on her mother’s face. Deep worry lines carved age into her usually youthful looking skin. Her bright blue eyes had lost their light. Something about her mother just looked broken.

“My head hurts” she finally managed to answer and pushed herself into a sitting position despite the movement making her head spin.

“Just take it slow. Do you remember what happened?” her mother adjusted the pillow behind Clarke so she could rest back against the bed. She thought back to her last memory.

“I was…doing homework in Dad’s lab –,” Clarke froze, a panicked shock prickling her skin. The alarms blaring, her father yelling, Bellamy pulling her towards the door, it all came back her. She turned to her mother, “Dad…there was a solar flare warning and then - where’s Dad?”

She feared the worst and her mother’s forlorn frown confirmed it. 

“The project your father was working on…there was a malfunction of some sorts, we still aren’t sure but there was an explosion.” she looked away, trying to hide her tears, “Your fath-, your father didn’t make it.”

It was as if someone had turned the sound off. A ringing grew in her ears in the absence of it. A soothing hand ran up and down her back. She was pulled into a tight hug. Her mother’s sobs shook her slight frame, bringing back some of Clarke’s awareness. Her father was dead. 

*** * * * ***

Clarke stood where they had last seen Jasper, his blood stained the rock and moss. She closed her eyes and with each exhalation, the world around her quieted. The sounds of forest muffled in her ears as she listened for Jasper. His presence pulsed somewhere to her right and slowly, growing to a thrum as she focused on it.

“This way!”

Finn gave her a pat on the back before rushing head, hoping to pick up the rest of the trail he thought she’d found. As the other’s caught up, Clarke noticed a change in Wells. He ignored her as he followed Finn into the trees. His thoughts were consumed with jealously, aimed at Finn. 

_First Bellamy, now Finn. I’m the one who cares about her, I’m the one who loves her. Why can’t she see that?_

Bellamy came to a stand next to her as she watched Wells disappear into the foliage.

“That was too easy” his egotistical smirk fuelled the brewing anger in her. While she was focused on finding Jasper, Bellamy had been further sowing the seeds of discourse. He pointed out Clarke’s growing interest in Finn. She fought her embarrassment at the fact Bellamy had picked up on it so fast.

“Stop messing with him.” Clarke put a forceful hand on his chest, stopping him in his tracks.

He glanced at her hand for a moment, a reddish glow starting to build around her fingers. He smacked her hand away. “Or what? You think I’m scared of you but I’m not!”

“You think you can lie to me but you can’t.”

“Stay out of my head!” he seethed through gritted teeth.

“It’s not that simple! Your thoughts are always on the surface, they’re just there. I can’t ignore you like I can ignore everyone else.” her honesty stopped him short, for a moment.

“So, your saying it’s my fault?” he recoiled from her. 

“I’m just saying most people aren’t as easy to read.”

“Well, try harder.” he took off after the others. 

Clarke hated how guilty she felt. He had done nothing but antagonise her and she still felt like the bad guy. There had been a time when Clarke had been Bellamy’s friend, had felt a kinship with him. After her father died, she had never felt so lonely. Bellamy had been someone she could be honest with, someone who understood the changes she had gone through. How had it all gone so wrong? Bellamy wanted nothing to do with her most the time and Wells resented her for not feeling the same. She felt very alone.

She caught up to everyone, taking a little time quiet her mind. Soon enough, they found Jasper. It was a distressing sight, finding him strung up in a tree. Clarke rushed through the long grass, ignoring the other’s protests. Jasper moaned as she got closer. Just as she reached the base of the tree, the ground beneath her feet gave way. Her stomach dropped as she prepared to fall. Her hand stuck out behind her, instinctively trying to snag the ground. Something caught her arm just in time and she slammed into the dirt wall of the large pit that had opened beneath her. At the bottom, just below her dangling feet, dozens of wooden spikes laid in wait.

“Pull her up!” Finn and Well called out from somewhere above her. Bellamy loomed over the edge; his hand tightly grasped around her wrist. Sharp zaps conducted along the skin of her arm and around her wristband. As his grip tightened, a bright spark arched across his eyes.

 _Bellamy!_ Clarke silently called out to him. The electrical current he generated hurt, she felt it run through her entire body, her skin felt as if it were vibrating. The others pounding footsteps became louder as they neared.

Clarke panicked, _Bellamy!_ she called out again, urgently. If he didn’t stop the others would see. She braced herself again the painful current and summoned her energy, redirecting it to the hand that scratched at Bellamy’s arm. Her eyes reflected red in his luminescent brown as she stared up at him.

 _Bellamy!_ Pushing the energy out her hand, sending a red flash up his arm, she called out to him again. Bellamy’s grip relaxed slightly, his eyes dimmed in shock and just as the three boys appeared over his shoulder, the electrical current stopped. They all reached out, Murphy to grab hold of Bellamy, Finn and Wells to grab her. Together they pulled her up, Finn quick to haul her towards himself. Her limbs trembled, her vision blurred and her lungs constricted. Hands tugged her to standing but she fought them off. Their thoughts filled her ears, painfully.

_He wasn’t going to pull her up. Was he really going to let her fall?_

_Bellamy can’t be trusted._

_He could have just let her fall, done us all a favour._

_I lost control._

Control. Clarke forced air in and out of her lungs, creating a rhythmic pattern she could focus on.

“Clarke? Are you alright?” someone asked her.

“Just – help - Jasper.” she lowered herself down to the ground. Finn grabbed Murphy and the two started to cut Jasper down. Wells hovered over her protectively keeping a careful eye on Bellamy. 

“Back off.” 

Bellamy stepped back, rolling his eyes at her would be bodyguard. Her arm tingled slightly but otherwise; she was ok. She was lucky, he had only slightly electrocuted her. Checking her wristband, it was thankfully intact, he hadn’t damaged it.

 _I lost control. I wasn’t trying to hurt her. I don’t know what happened._ His guilt was evident, she knew he hadn’t meant to hurt her. It was almost as if he pushed his thoughts towards her with how easily she heard them.

*** * * * ***

**~ Two Months After the Accident ~**

It took the guard thirty-six hours to turn up at his door after the whole Clarke incident. He was escorted to the Chancellors quarters, where Jaha and Dr Griffin waited for him. 

“Mr Blake, thank you for joining us.” Jaha greeted him from his chair behind large his desk.

“Didn’t seem like I had much choice in the matter.” he sat down in the chair waiting for him. He had a bad feeling about what was to come next.

“You aren’t in trouble, Bellamy. We just need to talk to you.” Dr Griffin stood at Jaha’s shoulder. Her smile appeared friendly but something in her eyes seemed almost scared.

“There is a sensitive matter I wish to discuss with you and I would appreciate it if the following conversation stayed just between us.” he didn’t like the way Jaha spoke, all diplomatic and placating. He only nodded in response, “Very well. Now it seems some…new developments concerning the incident in the lab have come to our attention, namely the anomalous side effects.”

“Meaning?” Bellamy pushed against the floor with his feet to stop from nervously bouncing his legs. There was no way out, they knew about Clarke’s blood and soon enough his too.

“Clarke has shown signs of a genetic mutation and some abnormal abilities.” Dr Griffin clarified.

“Where is Clarke?” he knew they’d lie but wanted to appear as ignorant on the situation as possible. Plausible deniability could be his only saving grace.

“She’s in the ICU.” Jaha answered with what Bellamy assumed to be a reassuring smile. To Bellamy, he just looked creepy.

“Is she ok?”

“Yes, she’s fine. We just had to sedate her. There was…an incident.” Dr Griffin didn’t elaborate further. Bellamy had gotten the gist of the event from his eavesdropping earlier. Clarke had used her powers on Jaha. He knew Clarke would never be floated, her mother was on the council and would never let it happen. Him on the other hand, they could easily dispose of him and no one would bat an eyelid.

“Have you noticed any changes in yourself since the accident, Mr Blake.” Jaha fixed him with a pointed stare.

Bellamy knew he couldn’t lie about his blood, “Yes.”

“Would you care to elaborate?”

“My blood…it’s a different colour.”

“When did you first notice the change?” Dr Griffin moved around the desk, bringing over a little metal dish.

“I didn’t, Clarke did.” he held his arm out. He knew what came next, they were expecting it. She tied a blue piece of rubber tubing around his bicep and began feeling for a vein.

“Clarke told you?” Jaha continued his inquiry as Abby stuck the large needle through his skin.

The sharp pinch made him wince, “She came to me to see if I was going through the same thing.”

“And when was this?” Dr Griffin asked as she took the needle out and deposited the vial of his black blood into the metal dish.

“A month or so ago.”

“Why didn’t you come to me when you realised?” her nostrils flared with a disappointed anger only a mother could pull off.

He deliberated on his answer at the moment, “Clarke asked me not to.” It had been him that had asked Clarke not to say anything.

“Why?” Jaha cocked his head to the side, eyes narrowed, he didn’t buy it.

“She didn’t say, just made me promise not to say anything.” he couldn’t think of a convincing enough reason on Clarke’s behalf.

“Have there been any other significant changes?” Jaha pressed. They wanted to know if he had powers like Clarke. He knew Clarke wouldn’t have told them about him.

“No, I’m pretty much the same as I was before.” he shrugged, hoping to end the conversation. 

“And do you know of any changes in Clarke?”

“No, why what’s happened to her?”

“It’s nothing to worry about, we’re just trying to cover all our bases”, Dr Griffin returned to her place behind Jaha, “I’ll need you to come by my exam room later today so we can run some tests.”

“Look, there’s nothing wrong with me. Yeah, my bloods changed but I feel fine. I’m sure I’m ok.” he could tell from the hard line of their shoulders; they weren’t going to back down.

“Well, as your Doctor I insist.” she forced a polite smile.

“And as a patient I can refuse.”

“I understand that your sister is in the skybox currently.” Jaha’s mention of Octavia sent a cold chill down his spine.

He fisted the fabric of his pants, trying to reign in the live current beginning to build in his arms, “Yes.” He had been of afraid of this.

“I do hope she can be given a second chance at her reassessment hearing. I might be more inclined to do so given the cooperation of her sole remaining relative.” Jaha smirked, a condescending lift of his upper left.

Bellamy felt the current building in his hands, threatening to burst, “Fine.” he seethed through his teeth, watching to satisfaction spread across the older man’s features.

“Please come by my office around 4.” Dr Griffin gave him a stern nod. The tension in the room had drained all pre-tense from her manner.

Bellamy didn’t wait to be dismissed.

*** * * * ***

Clarke felt close to passing out. Her ears had begun to ring with a constant high pitch growing louder with every minute. Her head ached, light with exhaustion and loud with the other’s inner voices. Finn worried for Jasper’s health, as he held him up by the shoulder, concerned the boy might die if his wounds turned out to be more severe. Wells wished for a stretcher as Jasper’s dead weight dragged him down and made it harder for him to move through the wild forest. Jasper swam in a numb haze thanks to her enchantment. When they had gotten him down, the movement set off endless cries of pain. Clarke hadn’t been able to bear it and put him to sleep with a quick flick of the wrist. Murphy wanted to drop the dead animal he carried on his back but knew Bellamy would just make him pick it back up. She ignored Bellamy, focusing on other things to resist the magnetic pull of his mind. Her stomach growled; she couldn’t remember the last time she actually ate something. Since landing, there hadn’t been much time to dwell on food.

They had reached the halfway point in their trek when the incessant ringing in her ears started to hurt. She cried out as the white-hot poker pierced her mind again.

 _Who are you?!_ The woman’s voice shouted so loud Clarke thought her ear drums had spilt. Her knees hit the damp earth and she cradled her head in her hands.

“Clarke?!” Wells called out. She closed her eyes against the pain as the ringing continued to resonate between her ears. An image flashed behind her eyes.

_A woman stood wearing a dark red dress against the bright backdrop of a silver cityscape. Dark hair cascaded over one shoulder and her hands were clasped on front of her, arms bent at the elbow. She opened her mouth to speak-_

A hand gripped her left arm and the ringing stopped. Her heavy breathing mixed with the chirps and whistles of the birds above.

“What’s wrong?” Bellamy squeezed her arm, bringing the other up to pull her hands away from her face. Her mind instinctually reached out to his, pulling his conscious over hers like a warm blanket. His eyes found hers but there was no annoyance or reproached in them. He was concerned.

 _Something is definitely wrong, she had better control the last time I saw her._ His lips pursed slightly, he sensed her in his head but didn’t say anything.

“Is she ok?” Finn asked from behind him.

“I’m fine.” she pulled both her hands from Bellamy’s large one. She stood up and massaged her temples with her fingers to try and relieve the tension. Reluctantly, she pulled herself away from Bellamy’s comforting consciousness.

“Are you sure?” Bellamy put a handout to keep her upright when she stumbled a little.

“Yeah, it’s just a…migraine. I get them all the time.”

He remained for a moment. He knew different, he was the only person on Earth who knew about her abilities but for some reason, Clarke felt like she couldn’t tell him about the strange visions. She wanted to trust him again but in light of his recent behaviour, she felt very insecure around him.

“Let’s keep moving then.”

The dizziness still hadn’t faded and when she tried to walk, the ground felt like it was moving beneath her unsteady feet.

Bellamy caught her this time, “Ok, Princess, you’re not fine.” he moved into front of her and crouched down, “C’mon, get on.”

“Bellamy, I can walk.” She protested but even to her own ears, her voice sounded weary.

“Swap with me, I’ll carry her.” Wells started to move out from under Jasper. The idea of being carried for the next hour or so by Wells was even less appealing. She climbed on Bellamy’s back, draping her arms over his shoulder. He rose quickly and clasped his hands together under her butt, hiking her higher his back.

Wells stared, a fresh wave of jealously setting off the undesirable ache in her brain. She really hoped her newfound lack of control was temporary. She wasn’t sure how much more she could take. Bellamy strode past the others, carrying her weight easily, like she wasn’t on his back at all.

“We haven’t got all people, let’s move.” he barked out. Clarke rested her forehead in the curve between his shoulder and his neck. The gentle swaying helped to calm her enough to focus on regaining her control.

*** * * * ***

Bellamy tried not to concentrate too hard on any one thought as he carried Clarke on his back. He had felt her in his mind earlier for a moment but her presence was gone as quickly as it came. Even though he knew he was alone with his thoughts, he tried not to dwell. His lapse in control. worried him. He could have seriously hurt Clarke and the others could have learned his secret. His anger towards Clarke clashed with his fear for her safety. The moment his hand gripped her arm and the sight of her dangling over those spikes, his panic broke through his careful control. Their friendship teetered on sharp rocks and he couldn’t say he was blameless. He had pushed her away out of selfishness.

Warm puffs of air tickled the hairs on the back of his neck. The sensation was oddly satisfying and a sudden rush of affection towards her made him speak.

“I’m sorry, about before.” he mumbled, referring to the minor electrocution. One of her hands tensed, squeezing his arm slightly, “I was angry still and I just…lost control.”

“I know.” she whispered back and shifted slightly.

“How’s the migraine?” he stepped over a small fallen tree.

“Not as bad. I’m not sure but…” she trailed off and then shook her head, “I don’t know actually, I think I’m just tired. It’s hard to keep in control when I’m tired.” her lips brushed his outer ear as he jostled her. A sharp zap shocked them both. “Ow!” she laughed, her other hand coming up to cover his ear. He liked her laugh and it was nice to hear it again.

“I know the feeling.” he laughed along with her.


	3. Earth Kills

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All rights and characters to belong to the creators of The 100 (TV series) and Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Jasper was dying. Clarke knew that much. The cold light in the drop ship only worsened his appearance, bringing out the paleness in his skin, highlighting the sheen of sweat across his face. He had slept through the night, but come morning, her enchantment had worn off. His cries had woken them all as the sun rose and people had become agitated by the anguished sounds. She waited for when the others weren’t looking. 

“He’s a lost cause, just look at him.” Bellamy stood by the ladder, still covered in dirt and sweat from the day before. Finn, Monty, Wells and Octavia all turned to him. Clarke quickly flexed her fingers. A little burst of red shot into Jasper’s temple. His eye’s glazed over and swirling black clouds filled his iris’. She felt his consciousness slip and the pain recede from his nerves.

“I am looking at him and I’m going to help him.” she started cutting away the infected flesh around his yellowed wound using a jagged knife made from scrap dropship metal. He couldn’t feel it, thankfully. Monty sucked a breath in through his teeth as the sight of his best friend’s raw flesh.

“Clarke, we don’t have the resources, no medicine, we should just put him out of his misery.” Bellamy persisted.

Clarke ignored him, speaking to Octavia and Monty. “I won’t let Jasper die. I promise you.”

The pair were hesitant, and she didn’t blame them. They could see Jasper was dying, but Clarke could feel it.

“Octavia, let’s go.” Bellamy started down the ladder.

“I’m staying here.” Octavia refused to look at her brother, defiant eyes fixed on Jasper’s sleeping form. He continued down the ladder. The room stayed quiet until he was out of earshot.

“Self-serving jackass” Monty muttered under his breath.

“Bellamy’s right though, Jasper won’t last much longer, and we don’t have a way to treat him.” Finn interjected with his usual rationality, gesturing to the newly exposed flesh of Jasper’s chest. Finn had become an ally; someone Clarke knew she could trust and not by reading him but by his actions. Somehow, that made her feel safer around him.

“This poultice the grounders used on him, it might be to stave of infection. If we can figure out what it’s made from…” Clarke held up the dried poultice for them all to see. 

“It’s seaweed.” Wells leaned over, a little too close for Clarke’s comfort. “It’s supposed to grow by the river.” 

“How do you know that?” Octavia eyed him skeptically.

“I aced Earth Science.” he replied with a modest shrug.

“Ok then, let’s go.” Finn slipped quickly down the ladder, Wells following him. Her reluctance to be around Wells fought with her conscious. Jasper needed medicine. Even if she wasn’t sure it would work, they had to do something.

“Keep an eye on him and we’ll be back as soon as we can” Clarke offered Octavia and Monty as reassuring a smile as she could muster. From their faces, she could tell it fell a little flat. She joined Finn and Wells outside the drop ship. She took the backpack Finn offered her, slinging it over her shoulders as they headed for the gate.

Finn led the way to the river. Clarke trailed to the left, her need for mental distance manifesting in the need for physical distance. Her head no longer hurt. Having eaten and slept some last night marginally improved her control. Wells stewed as he walked along behind Finn, but Clarke kept out of his head. Bellamy had drawn Wells’ attention to her newfound connection with Finn and pointed out something Clarke had told Bellamy in confidence. She would never love Wells the way he loved her.

After an hour of silence, Clarke could no longer stand it, “Just say what you want to say, Wells.”

He spun around, walking backwards as he spoke to her, “Is what Bellamy said true?”

“Of course not, he was just trying to get a rise out of you.” she remained on the outskirts of his thoughts, just enough to sense his emotions but not enough to hear the formulation of his response.

“So, you weren’t hanging out with him and avoiding me all those weeks?” the deep hurt he felt made her cringe.

She hesitated to answer, and he took that as a yes.

“You know you could have just told me what was going on instead of lying about it.” he spun back around, picking up the pace.

She hurried to catch up, “There is nothing going on. We hung out a couple times after the lab, but that’s it. Stop making this about him when this is about you. You’re mad at me.”

“You started it. What did I do? I know the accident and losing your father was hard to handle, but that doesn’t explain why all of a sudden you no longer wanted to talk to me.”

“Nothing, you did nothing.” she knew she was in the wrong. He had tried to be there for her and she pushed him away. If it had been reversed, Clarke would be pissed too. 

“Then why?”

Addressing the change in their dynamic had not been her plan, but it seemed to be headed in that direction, “I wasn’t sure how to talk to you.”

“You can always talk to me.” he sighed.

“What I have to say isn’t what you want to hear.” she heard the pity in her voice and sensed it sting his already raw emotions.

“What I’m hearing is that you can tell your secrets to Bellamy, but you can’t tell them to me.”

“I told one secret to Bellamy and he should not have said anything to you.”

“You don’t have to protect me; I can handle it, you know.” he put on a brave face but Clarke saw the cracks in the mask. His denial had saved him from a broken heart so far.

“Do you really want me to say it?”

He shook his head. A trail of rejection lingered after him as he caught up to Finn. She made no hurry to close the gap.

_Where is it?_

A sharp whisper hissed in her mind. Looking around, searching for the source, she saw nothing but the dense green forest. Not a single human presence, except for Finn and Wells, registered.  
  


*** * * * ***

**~ Two and Half Months Before Earth ~**

_I love you._

Wells’ unspoken confession played over and over again. Clarke hid in her room, as she had been doing the past week. The voices of everyone around in her head overwhelmed her. To make matters worse, her best friend had secretly been harbouring crush on her for years. A knock at the front door startled her. A glance down at her father’s watch told her it was late, too late in the evening to be expecting anyone. She threw back the blanket and padded quietly to the living area. As she drew closer to the door, a whisper stopped her.

 _Please be awake._ The familiar deep tones of Wells’ voice filtered into her mind. She panicked and quickly retreated to her room as he knocked again. She laid in bed, facing the wall, and listened as her mother stirred.

_Her mother opened the front door, not surprised to see Wells._

_“I’m sorry to intrude so late, Dr Griffin. I just wanted to check on Clarke.” Wells looked nervous; hands stuffed in his pockets. Her mother thought it was cute._

_“It’s ok, you know you’re welcome anytime. She’s asleep, but I’ll let her know you stopped by, in the morning.”_

_“Ok…” he turned slightly, as if to leave but remained, “I know she’s been through a lot the past two weeks… I just can’t help but feel like she’s avoiding me.”_

_“People react to loss in different ways. If it helps, Clarke has said little to me since. She was close with her father, and recovery has been a little rough. Give her some time.” her mother reassured him, in that mother cross doctor tone she used so well._

_“Yeah, I’m sorry again for stopping by so late.” He smiled sheepishly and bade her goodnight._

Clarke returned to her own mind, Wells’ face fading into the white silver of her bedroom wall. Her chest ached, guilt and shame sinking their claws in. She wanted more than anything to talk to him about all the strange things happening to her, to lean on him for support but knowing he had romantic feelings for her, changed things. He longer felt like a safe place to land, but an uncomfortable situation to navigate.

*** * * * ***

The acid fog was an unexpected hinderance. Clarke sat quietly, ignoring Wells’ attempts to communicate. They had been stuck in an old rusted car for over two hours. The hands on her father’s watch ticked loudly in the awkward silence. Finn had tried to include in her a brief conversation about the amber coloured alcohol he’d found in the glove compartment. She ignored them and listened intently to the raging fog outside.

“Clarke, you can’t ignore me forever. I have every right to be mad at you.” Wells leaned over, putting himself in her eye line.

Clarke winced; she knew he was right, but she couldn’t bring herself to tell him the truth. Not that she couldn’t trust him, but the truth would lead to a conversation she didn’t really want to have. They hadn’t talked about her attack on his father.

“My dad didn’t tell me much, but he told me you attacked him, blamed him for your father’s death. Clarke, your dad’s death was an accident.”

Finn looked up at this, eyeing Clarke. She turned away from them both, still not ready to talk about it.

“All I know is, your father died and somehow, I became the bad guy. I’m your best friend, how can you shut me out like this?” he took a swig of the dark alcohol.  
A breath-taking burn washed down his throat and a pleasant warmth settled in his stomach. He enjoyed the sensation.

“I don’t blame you Wells, I just, I can’t talk to you about what happened. There’s a reason they had me in isolation.” she held firm. If Jaha hadn’t told him what happened, she didn’t want to be the one to tell him what an asshole his father was.

“Yeah, so you couldn’t tell anyone about the life support failure, Clarke, I already know that.”

“No… something else.” 

“What then?”

Clarke remained silent. After a tense pause, Wells gave up. He slumped back against the door of the car and took another sip from the dusty glass bottle.

A few minutes passed, and the need to sleep overcame her.

_The glow of Earth hung in the distance below. She stood in front of a viewing window in a bright white room. It looked nothing like the Ark. She caught sight of her reflection but it wasn’t her she saw staring back. A young woman, older than herself, floated in the glass. Her pale skin stark against her dark hair and even darker eyes. Clarke watched the woman’s expression morph, terror filling her eyes and her mouth opening into a silent cry. Beyond her, through her, a bright orange glow erupted from Earth. Fire mushroomed from all over, bursts of white-fiery light melding into a broiling sea of red heat._

Clarke opened her eyes to Finn leaning over her, gently shaking her awake.

“It’s morning.” he reached up and popped open the car door. She rubbed her eyes, a little disorientated. Her dream had been strange and left a lingering unease in its wake. Clarke had a feeling the dreams and visions she had since landing were all connected. The woman in red and the woman in the glass appeared to be the same person.

Wells followed Finn without looking at her, now ignoring her in his frustration. She couldn’t tell him the truth, but the constant tension between them waned on her. She wasn’t sure how much more she could take. The walk back to camp had been mostly silent until Finn fell into step next to her.

“Why so glum, Princess?” he asked.

“I don’t want to talk about it, Finn.”

“What’s so secret you can’t tell your best friend?” he gestured to Wells ahead of them. Clarke stared at his tall form bobbing though the forest, “You can tell us about the life support but not why you were in isolation?”

“It’s not that simple.”

“What are you so afraid of? No one from the Ark can get to you down here, so what’s the harm?”

“I’m not afraid, I just-,” she scrambled for a way to explain, “I don’t know who I can trust.”

He put a gentle hand on her arm, “You can trust me.” his earnest expression drew her in, but as soon as the edges of his thoughts touched hers, she pulled away.

“I can’t talk about it; can we please just leave it at that?”

He nodded, a little disappointed, and pulled his hand away.

A high-pitched scream rang out. The three of them ran after it, coming to find Bellamy and a few others standing around a body. Adam’s body. Clarke flinched at the waves of pain resonating from him. His skin blistered, marbled red and black. Her heart clenched knowing he’d been there all night, suffering. She quickly shrugged her pack off her shoulders and came to kneel at his head. His eyes were bloodshot and cloudy, he could barely see anything. The burning sensation licking his skin brought tears to her eyes. His pain became her pain. Her hand shook slightly as she raised it to his head.

“Everyone, head back to camp, Clarke and I will handle this.” Bellamy crouched next to Adam; a small blade gripped tightly in hand. They shared a brief look, waiting for the others to leave.

 _Put him out of his misery._ Clarke heard Bellamy’s apprehension, his knuckles white around the handle of the knife.

“Kill… me.” Adam whispered; a wet gurgle bubbled in his throat. Bellamy’s thought’s raced, trying to work up the nerve to end Adam’s life. An image flashed, catching her off guard, _Chancellor Jaha facing down the barrel of a gun._

“Can you help him?” Bellamy’s question brought her back to the moment. He didn’t look at her, his eyes remained glued to Adam’s burned face.

“No, but I can take away his pain.” Clarke summoned energy into her palm. A soft red wisp wafted around her fingers. Adam’s eyes changed from bloodshot and cloudy to swirling blue black. His sharp intakes relaxed to slow breaths and his limbs stilled. Clarke could see the vision in his mind, _the warm arms of his mother wrapped around him as he relaxed into sleep. He no longer felt the pain of his singed nerve endings._

Clarke slipped the blade from Bellamy’s tense grip. She knew it had to be done, but that didn’t make the action any easier. Focusing on Adam’s pleasant state of mind, she pierced the skin of his neck. Blood flowed quickly from the punctured artery. As it pooled around his head, he felt nothing but the gentle pull of sleep. Clarke could feel his life draining, dimming as the blood seeped towards her knees and then he was gone. The emptiness of his mind weighed on her; tears trailed silently down her cheeks. She had never felt someone die before. Her mind reached out, trying to find the familiar hum of life in the hollow space, trying to connect. She pulled away from Adam, her head pounding, her breathing uneven. A panic rose in her, starting at her feet and crawling up through her body. She needed to get away from him. With each step she took, the firmness of the ground brought her back to herself. The buzz of the others, their voices, their thoughts, their pulsating life force calmed her panic as she neared the camp. Death felt empty and dark, and it scared her.

*** * * * ***

**~ Two Months After the Accident ~**

A sharp knock woke Bellamy. He dragged himself out of bed, shuffling through his small living quarters to answer the door. It was Clarke.

_Hey, I’m sorry it’s so late, but it’s important._

Bellamy didn’t think he’d ever get used to her voice in his head.

“Clarke, I have to be up in,” he glanced at the digital clock on the wall by the door, “3 hours.”

 _Again, I’m sorry._ She pushed him back into the room and pulled the door closed behind her.

“What’s going on?”

_The explosion in the lab wasn’t caused by the solar flare. It was a false alarm; the solar flare didn’t even happen!_

Bellamy opened his mouth to respond, but she already heard his question.

_The stone. It was supposed to be a solution but my father didn’t think they could make it work in time so he was going to go public but then-_

“Wai –,” 

_Jaha and the council are keeping it quiet. My father argued with him, he thought everyone had a right to know. If he hadn’t of died in the lab explosion, Jaha was going to float him just days after and that isn’t even the worst of it!_

“How–,” Bellamy took a deep breath when she interrupted him again. Her very one-sided conversation irritated his tired brain, and she seemed too consumed in her own anger to notice.

_Wells overheard him and my mother talking yesterday, they were arguing about it. Jaha thinks my mother has some video message my father recorded, hidden somewhere, a video he was planning on broadcasting to everyone._

“Clarke! It’s 1 o’clock in the morning, I don’t care about whatever Jaha was going to do, your dad is dead either way!”

A heavy silence hung between them. Stunned tears welled in her eyes, _Bell-_

“Just stop it! Stop with the talking in my head. Clarke, you can’t just go snooping through everyone’s thoughts whenever you want. Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should. I’m sick of not feeling like I have any privacy anymore.”

Clarke quickly regained her composure. As he watched her leave, slamming the door on her way out, guilt set in. He returned to bed and tried to ease himself back to sleep. He tossed and turned; Clarke’s teary eyed face burned into his brain. He felt like an asshole. It was a low blow, the comment about her father.

His alarm sounded all too soon, and he readied himself for work. Another day cleaning up the Ark’s mess, his punishment for helping his mother hide Octavia’s existence. He stopped off at the commissary for a quick breakfast before heading to his first job on the very long list assigned to him that day, the Medical Wing.

As he neared the medical bay doors, he noticed something was off. Four guardsman stood sentry by the doors. A small line of people needing urgent care stood to the side. One nurse stood by them with a tablet, speaking to a man holding his young son.

“Why can’t I see Dr Griffin?” The man asked the nervous looking younger man.

“There’s been a medical emergency. They’re sending someone else over, they should be here soon.”

Bellamy continued past the guards with a flash of his ID badge. He made his way towards the recovery ward to start his duties, when raised voices floated in from the emergency room. Curious, he crept towards the doors at the end of the corridor and peered through the small glass panel in the door.

Beyond it was Clarke. She was unconscious, her wrist and ankles bound to the hospital bed she laid on. Dr Griffin came into view, leaning over Clarke to flash a light in her eyes. A man followed and stood beside her; he began drawing Clarke’s blood into a vial. The sight of her black blood slowly filling the glass tube set off a burst of panic within him. They would come for him next. He stepped away from the door, unsure of what to. Footsteps approached behind him. With a deep exhale, he melded from sight, no longer visible.

Chancellor Jaha and Councilman Kane rounded the corner and marched up to the doors. Bellamy pressed himself against the wall, keeping as far away from them as possible in the small space.

“I want Abby’s report as soon as it’s ready.” Jaha stared through the glass just as Bellamy had.

“Yes, Sir.” Kane paused for a moment, “I’m still uncertain of what happened. Why would Clarke attack you?”

“I… am not sure myself.” Jaha hesitated in his response. Bellamy knew why. He kicked himself for not listening to Clarke when she came to him earlier. She had been angry at Jaha, and it seemed she had tried to do something about it. They had tied her to the bed, they were worried about what she’d do, which meant only one thing. Her abilities were no longer a secret, and soon, neither would his.

*** * * * ***

The air became cooler, and the sky darkened. As evening approached, Clarke left Monty to boil the seaweed down into a tea. Jasper had awoken from her enchantment while she had been gone. Octavia and Monty had locked themselves and Jasper in the upper level to keep out Murphy. Clarke made a note to keep an eye on him.  
She had a bone to pick with Bellamy. Upon exiting the drop ship, she knew instantly he wasn’t in camp. Eyes closed, she let the sound of her own breathing fill her ears and quickly picked up on the thrum of his thoughts in the distance. A few minutes outside camp, away from all the noise, she found him leaning against a moss-covered tree, looking up at the purple and orange hued sky.

“How’s Octavia doing?” he asked without looking at her. Adam’s death had caused a rift between the siblings. 

“She’s ok, she’s looking after Jasper.” Clarke came to stand next to him. She concentrated on the moment, the smell in the air, the slight breeze on her skin, the pale light of the moon; all to avoid listening in on Bellamy’s thoughts.

“I can see your taking my ‘try harder’ request seriously.” he crossed his arms over his chest, amused.

“How can you tell?”

“I don’t really know, I can just feel it, or can’t feel it, I guess. When you read me, I can feel you in my head with me, but right now…” he shrugged. Clarke smiled, pleased to know her concentration on the moment worked. “Did you come out here to check on me or yell at me?”

“Both.”

“Let me guess, Wells.” he rolled his eyes, kicking off the tree.

“You got in his head, now not only do I have to listen to his unrequited pining after me, he’s also mentally strangling Finn whenever he sees the two of us together.”

Bellamy just laughed at her.

“It’s not funny.”

“Pretty funny to me, Princess.”

“You’ve done nothing but make things harder for me since we got down here.”

“I’ve made things harder for you?!”

“Yes! With all this ‘whatever the hell we want’ bullshit and renouncing the Ark and asserting your dominance over everyone just to serve you own selfish agenda!”

“Jaha wanted to control us, Clarke! I can’t have them coming down here and locking me up. I won’t be their science project.”

“You think I don’t know that? Of course, I don’t want that to happen either but the Ark is dying, thousands of people and you just want to let them die?”

“I’m just looking out for Octavia and me, I couldn’t care less about the Ark.”

“You’re angry at Jaha and you’re taking it out on Wells. The Ark is not Jaha, there are good people up there, people who deserve our help.”

“I’m not helping you bring Jaha and the guard down here.”

“We both know Jaha won’t be coming down with the rest of the Ark.”

He stilled, like a deer in headlights, “How long have you known?”

“Since Adam. How could you?”

“He locked you up, Clarke! He threatened to float Octavia if I didn’t comply! I know you wanted him dead too!”

“He’s my best friend’s father! As much as I hate him, I could never do that to Wells!”

“I’m not interested in being locked up for the rest of my life, all in the name of friendship! I did what I had to do, to protect Octavia, to protect myself.”

He hit a nerve. Red consumed her vision and with a flick of her wrist, she threw Bellamy back, slamming him against the tree with a crunch. Clarke turned away, trying to cool her boiling rage before she lost it completely. Bellamy was on his feet in an instant and right behind her. He yanked her backwards by the wrist, pulling her body flush against his. Electricity surged through her veins, stronger than before. Sharp snaps and crackles filled the air as blue electricity arched up and down her arm. She gritted her teeth against the seizing of her muscles and dug her elbow into his gut, forcing him to release her. He recovered quickly, blue electricity cracking around his fingers, ready to strike again. She raised her arm up to fend him off.

They both caught sight of her wrist, noticing her wristband no longer clamped around it. It lay, popped open, charred and melted around the join, on the ground between them. There was silence between them for a long moment. Clarke couldn’t take her eyes off the now useless chunk of metal. As far as the Ark was concerned, she was dead. Her mother thought she was dead.

“Clarke, I- “

She cut him off, “Don’t.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to- “

“You got what you wanted.” Clarke backed away. She left him there, stunned by his own actions, and made her way back to camp. She took a steadying breath as she reached the gate, wiping away the tears that had slipped down her cheeks. 

*** * * * ***

The seaweed tea seemed to work. Jasper’s fever had subsided. The pain had eased a little, but not enough. Clarke soothed him back into a painless sleep. Monty sat in his corner, fiddling with his and Jasper’s wristbands. For the first time since they’d landed on earth, Clarke felt a moment of peace. Everything around her was quiet. The strange visions and dreams came to mind. She had experienced nothing like them on the Ark. Something on Earth was affecting her, and she had a sneaking suspicion the Nexus Stone was involved. It was never recovered after the accident. Was it possible it had landed on Earth?

“Hey” Finn’s head appeared from below the hatch. He climbed up to join her by Jasper’s side, “How’s he doing?”

“Better. The tea’s working.” she cleaned around the bandage on his chest.

Finn grabbed her hand, pulling it towards him, “What happened to your wristband?”

Clarke hesitated, “Monty needed a working wristband.”

Monty frowned slightly at her lie, but he said nothing.

“What about this?” Finn tapped the bright red mark where her bracelet had been with his finger. It was a Lichtenberg Figure, a branching pattern emitting from where the contacts of the monitor had pierced into the underside of her wrist. The branches extended to her elbow, marring her pale skin.

“I must have scratched myself when I fell earlier.” Clarke pulled her hand away and pushed down the sleeve of her jacket. Finn fixed her with a doubtful look. She couldn’t tell him the truth. Clarke avoided his eyes, hoping it was enough to get him to drop the subject. She could hear him wrestling with her explanation and his own instincts, but thankfully, he let it go.

“What about your mother?” 

“What about her?”

“She thinks you’re dead. I know you and her aren’t on the best terms, but Clarke…”

“When Monty gets communication up and running, she’ll know I’m ok.”

“And until then?” he disapproved of her choice, not that she had chosen. Something in the back of his mind piqued her interest. There was someone on the Ark, someone he cared about, they were the reason he hadn’t taken off his wristband yet. Before she could delve a little deeper-

A loud voice cracked across her thoughts, like thunder after lightening.

_Clarke! Clarke!_

She felt as if some invisible force had sucked the air from her lungs.

“Clarke?” Finn called to her, “Are you ok?”

All she could focus on was the pain radiating from the side of her neck. The same voice floated through her ears, but quieter this time.

_Clarke... help._

It was Wells; he was hurt. No. He was dying. Clarke tried to stand too quickly and lurched forwards. Crawling, she reached the ladder and hurriedly slid down the rungs. Outside, the air felt cold, colder than before. Every breath became harder than the last, gasps filled her ears, drowning out Finn’s voice as he caught up to her. Pivoting, she looked around for any sign of her friend. A hand came up to stop her movements. Finn’s face came back into view, his lips moving, but she still couldn’t hear his words. A hollow feeling clawed at her core; her breathing stopped.

_Clarke._

A barely there whisper reached her. She ran towards it. The ground beneath her feet felt too soft, she couldn’t get enough purchase, her feet tripped and slipped as she tried to run. Black tree trunks and dull green branches blurred past her, her only guide Wells’ dying call. The closer she got, the more he faded. The loose earth disappeared from under her as she neared him, her hands coming up just in time to catch her fall. Sliding down the damp slope, black dirt coloured her palms, dead leaves stuck to her pants.

“WELLS!”

His crumpled body lay face down on the damp forest floor. He didn’t move. She scrambled to his side. Blood covered the upturned side of his face. One arm lay outstretched, two of the fingers cut clean off. Grunting, she rolled him over, revealing his punctured throat, sticky with blood and dirt. His eyes, glass brown orbs, stared up at the night sky above, but they saw nothing.

“WELLS!” she cried out his name again, as if she could call him back. Her hands rested on his chest, hoping to feel even the slightest of movement. Dark red crept into the edges of her vision. Her entire body shook, her hands vibrated against his still form. Tears rained down on his skin and she could hear herself screaming. Her hands, surrounded by glowing crimson energy, tried to grasp onto any sign of life within him.

“WELLS!” Ear-splitting cries escaped her, a part of her was dying, the hollow pit in her core seeped icy darkness. A quick pulse shot down her arm, transferring from her palm to his chest. She was barely aware she had done it, his torso lifted slightly but he remained lifeless. It was excruciating. She tried to reach out to his mind, but there was nothing. An empty void replaced his once vibrant thoughts. He was just… gone.

She bent over Wells, her forehead resting on his still chest. The red glow faded, the darkness of the night swallowing them. Voices grew louder in the distance. Voices not the hum of consciousness. All she could sense was the echoing pit in Wells’ head. For so long, she had wished to never hear his voice in her head again, but in that moment, it was all she wanted.


	4. Murphy's Law

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: All rights and characters to belong to the creators of The 100 (TV series) and Marvel Cinematic Universe.

**~ Two Months Before Earth ~**

Clarke struggled with her perceptibility to other's thoughts. In her waking hours, she felt a constant thrum, an ever-present sense of the minds of those around her. For the most part, Clarke could block out their inner monologues, only tuning in when needed, but it all took its toll. Over the past month, she had never been more exhausted in her life.

A distracting ache in her forehead persisted, as she sat at the table in the living area of her quarters. The words on the screen of her tablet became black fuzz against the lit background. Warm wetness started to dribble from her nose. She wiped the back of her hand across her nostrils, expecting to see snot or the ruby red of a bloody nose. She did not expect the ink colour smeared over her pale skin. She rushed to the bathroom and in the mirror, confirmed her panic. Black blood trickled from her nose. She tried to think of an explanation but came up short.

Clarke retrieved the first aid kit her mother kept under in the bathroom cabinet, looking for some gauze to help soak up the last remnants of blood. Her hand stopped over the small scalpel tucked neatly beside the bandages. Clinging to the last dregs of hope, she took the scalpel from the box and sliced into the flesh of her palm. Metal clattered against metal at the sight of the same ink black oozing from the incision, pooling in the centre of her hand. Something was very wrong. She pressed a wad of gauze to her palm and ran out the door.

Before the accident, nothing strange had ever happened to Clarke. No reading people's minds, no moving objects without touching them, no black blood. There had to be a connection to her newfound abilities. She kept her hand hidden in the sleeve of her oversized sweater as she made her way through the crowded corridors of Alpha station. She focused on Bellamy, the sound of his voice and followed the thrum of his mind. Factory station was even more crowded than Alpha. People glanced at her as she tried to slip through unnoticed. Every citizen had the freedom to roam the various stations, though the class system upheld bias. The closer she got to Bellamy, the louder his thoughts became. He was in his quarters, tired and lonely.

She banged on the door with her fist. It creaked open only an inch. Bellamy peered out, his brow creased, and lips sagged in his signature frown.

"Clarke, what are you doing here?" he pulled her inside.

 _I have a problem_. Clarke unravelled the hastily wrapped bandage over her hand and presented it to him.

“Whoa! What is that?!” he took her hand in his and drew it to eye level. His fingers twitched next the cut. _An impulse to touch the odd substance overcame him, instinct held him back._

 _My blood._ The shock had worn off. Adrenaline seeped into her muscles and sent shivers through her body.

“Your blood?!”

_I could be wrong, but I think whatever happened to us, to give us these superhuman abilities, this is a result of that._

Bellamy was quick to understand her train of thought. He ripped open the backpack on the table in the middle of the room and pulled a short-handled knife out. He pierced the skin of his palm with the tip just as she had. The same dark black colour bleed from the wound.

“Have you told your mother?” he stared at his hand, transfixed as his blood dribbled off the side of his palm.

 _No, I came straight here._ Clarke watched the droplets splatter the floor like paint dripping from a brush.

“What do we do about this? Is this bad?” Fear built slowly in Bellamy. She could sense him trying to calm himself.

_I don’t know. I’ve never heard of a person’s blood changing colour like this._

Bellamy disappeared through the door at the back of the room. Clarke sat down at the small fold away table. Water running from a tap broke the silence as she held the gauze over the cut again. He returned, an old rag scrunched in his palm and joined her at the table.

“Our blood was still normal after the accident. If anything, strange had been going on, your mother would have picked up on it. This didn’t happen instantly.” he leant on his elbows. She saw images as he remembered those earlier days. _A sharp needle in his arm and crimson blood filling a vial. Blistering burns on his arms, legs, and chest. Bellamy's back reflected in the bathroom mirror; a large burn starting at the base of his neck curved to the left, along the shoulder blade and tapered just beneath it. All his wounds tinged red with the blood coursing through the damaged tissue._

 _Our abilities didn't manifest instantly. Mine took weeks to show._ Clarke wondered if her blood had changed the moment her powers presented. There was no way to know for sure.

“It has to be connected.”

_I wish we knew more about the nexus stone. It has to be the source._

A mutual uncertainty hung around them.

“We have to keep this to ourselves.” Bellamy asserted. She knew what he was afraid of. The faces of his mother and sister reflected in his eyes.

 _They aren’t going to float us for this. We’ve done nothing wrong._ Clarke tried to reassure him. He wouldn’t meet her eye, his mistrust of the council deafening him to her reasoning.

“Octavia is in the skybox just for being born, what’d you think they’ll do to us? We threaten their control over people. They’ll float me and they’ll lock you up.”

_Just because my mother is on –_

“She won’t let them float you. I don’t have anyone looking out for me.”

Clarke could almost taste the bitterness in his words. She reached across the table, gripping his forearm with a nervous hand. _You have me._

Looking at her hand on his arm, he sighed. _A memory of his mother sitting across from him at the same table. Her delicate yet callused hand rubbing back and forth to comfort him._ Clarke smiled at the tenderness in the memory.

Bellamy covered her hand with his and gave it a gentle squeeze, “Just promise me you won’t tell your mother about this.”

 _Ok_. Clarke didn't want to tell her mother. The pragmatic side of her knew her mother was the only one who could give them any answers. She decided to honour Bellamy wish, for the time being.

*** * * * ***

Finn left Clarke where she had fallen asleep in the dropship. It had been a distressing sight, finding her crying over Wells’ body. She looked so broken. Eventually, he had managed to coax her away from her best friend’s corpse. She cried herself to sleep.

He made it back to camp as dawn approached and a soft purple hue hung in the air. Just as he edged around the tree line, he caught sight of Bellamy sitting by the fire. The pile of orange embers glowed at his feet; white smoke wafted skywards. The de-facto leader sat hunched over, turning a piece of scrap metal in his hands, staring at it intently. Finn stopped to get a better look at it. The silver metal reflected the dying firelight, charred and melted in places. As Bellamy flipped it over, Finn realised it was a wristband. Instantly, it all clicked. Somehow Bellamy had been involved in the removal of Clarke's wristband. Finn knew she lied to him, that the mark on her arm and the removal of her wristband were linked. A cold suspicion set in. He didn’t like Bellamy.

Inside the dropship, Clarke sat with Monty on the lower level.

“How goes it?” Finn asked him.

Monty's shoulder sagged as he held two wires between his nimble fingers, "Not great. I almost had it. Every time I try to remove a wristband, it just dies." 

“So, we just need to figure out a way to take off the wrist bands without breaking them.” Finn sat down next to Clarke. She hugged her knees to her chest, head resting back, “Any ideas, Clarke?”

Her sharp blue eyes remained glazed over. She didn't even register Finn's presence.

“She hasn’t spoken a word. I tried, man.” Monty whispered to him as he dislodged another wall panel to reveal an array of motherboards and wiring.

The usual determination set so deep on her features no longer appeared. Defeat replaced it, glassy-eyed and broken. Finn wanted to hold her, comfort her and he had tried. Anytime he reached his hand out, she shied away from him. He knew she would come around soon, but he still felt a small sting of rejection. Feeling useless, Finn left Monty to his work and Clarke to her grief. Just inside the door, he spotted the shovel Wells had used to dig the graves of the two guys who had died in the rough landing.

*** * * * ***

Wells’ death had united them. Instead of acting like a group of degenerate teenagers, everyone had jumped to action to build a wall around their developing campsite. Their fear of the Grounders outweighed their selfishness. The need to survive drove them to work together. Bellamy hoisted a fallen log up onto his shoulder while Miller held it up from the other end. They carried it to where the main gates were under construction. A few people worked, positioning panels, trying to hammer and strap the pieces together the best they could. He let the log roll off his shoulder when they got close enough.

“Hand me that axe, will you?” he gestured to Miller while pulling his arms from his jacket sleeves. The chill of early morning had faded, the high sun bringing much-welcomed warmth.

“Here.”

Bellamy stuck his hand out, not looking at Miller as he handed him the axe. Distracted at the sight of Octavia, who shuffled past them with a trembling Jasper, his palm slid down the very sharp edge of the axe head.

“Bellamy, I’m so sorry!” Miller dropped the axe in a panic as Bellamy snatched his arm away.

“It’s fine!” Bellamy wasn’t angry; he was nervous. He clenched his fist tight, covering it hastily with the front of his shirt.

“Is it bad?” Miller tried to get a look at his hand.

“It’s alright, don’t worry about it.” he turned tail, leaving behind the small group of onlooking teens and headed straight for the dropship. Blood soaked into his shirt, a sticky warmth pooling against his skin.

He found Clarke sitting with Monty. They both turned to him as he came stomping in. He felt the familiar tension of Clarke’s mind connecting with his. She jumped to her feet.

“What happened?” Monty asked as Clarke positioned herself to hide Bellamy’s injury from view.

“Sliced my hand, it’s no big deal though, just need Clarke to stitch it up.” Bellamy tried to seem casual.

"I, uh, don't have anything to clean it with down here." Clarke tilted her head towards the upper level and turned slightly to keep Monty from seeing. She ushered Bellamy towards the ladder. He climbed as quickly as he could one-handed, pressing his hand further into his stomach as Monty watched. He stepped carefully off the ladder; the upper-level dark as the solar panels were still out of action. He caught sight of a red glow out the corner of his eye. Various emergency lanterns flickered to life, filling the space with blue light. Clarke collected various supplies leftover from Jasper's stint there. Bellamy let out a breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding and dropped down heavily onto the floor.

“Are you ok?” Clarke came to sit next to him, laying out the materials she’d gathered.

“Yeah, it doesn’t hurt that bad.” he peeled his hand from his sticky shirt and held it out to her. A deep gash glistened in the middle on his palm, black blood leaking from the centre. It still shocked him to see his own blood, no longer the deep red he was familiar.

“You’ll have to keep this well covered.” Clarke pressed a scrap of damp cloth over the wound.

“How long do you think it’ll take to heal?” Since the accident, Bellamy noticed his injures healed faster than before.

“I don’t know, a day maybe.”

They lapsed into silence as Clarke worked, cleaning, disinfecting and stitching. It barely hurt.

He hadn’t had a moment alone with her since he fried her wristband and after Wells’, she had holed up the dropship with Spacewalker all night. He deliberated on what to say, unable to find the right words.

“I’m still not talking to you.” she glanced at him briefly as she stuck the needle through his skin. He frowned, her presence in his mind was absent. For once, he wished she would snoop.

“I’m sorry about Wells.” he meant it, despite not being overly fond of the guy.

She tied off the thread, severing the end with a shard of scrap metal, “Keep it wrapped up, and don’t rip those stitches open.”

“Clarke –,” he tried to stop her from leaving.

She sidestepped his uninjured hand, “I’m not interested in your sympathy, Bellamy.”

“Guys!” Monty’s head poked through the hatch. Clarke took the opportunity to distance herself from him further, already by the ladder when Monty spoke again.

*** * * * ***

Finn patted down the freshly turned dirt. 

Monty skidded to a stop, distressed, “Hey, Octavia and Jasper found something.” Not waiting for him, Monty took off towards the main tent. Finn tossed the shovel aside and hurried after him.

Inside, Clarke, Jasper, Monty and Octavia all stood around the hastily made table in the centre. Finn immediately gravitated to Clarke. She looked so vulnerable.

“Alright, now that we're all here,” Bellamy stepped forward to address the group, “Jasper and Octavia found this- “, he tossed a dagger made from dropship scrap metal onto the table, “-outside the gate, along with Wells’ fingers.”

"So, it wasn't Grounders?" Finn asked, looking to Clarke; her attention fixated on the severed fingers. Someone in their camp had murdered her best friend.

“It was Murphy” Octavia spoke up, picking up the dagger, “It’s got his initials carved into the handle.”

“We don’t know if it was Murphy, just that it’s his knife,” Bellamy spoke firmly.

“Are you kidding?” Finn wasn’t sure why Bellamy was sticking up for the guy.

"It's no secret Murphy and Wells didn't get along, that doesn't make him a murderer."

“He’s also not the only murderer in camp,” Monty spoke up, “Some of the people out there are here because they killed on the Ark.”

Monty had a good point. A few names came to mind, guys Finn had been wary of in the skybox. Clarke still hasn't said a word. She continued to stare at the table, arms crossed and huddled in on herself. She was always so strong; it was hard to see her that way. Finn wanted more than anything to comfort her.

“We should talk to Murphy, see what he has to say.” Finn looked to the others.

“Agreed.” Bellamy swept out of the tent with no further explanation.

“It wasn't him." Clarke's quiet voice broke through the silence like a whip crack; all eyes focused on her.

“How do you know?” Finn asked softly. She didn’t answer.

Bellamy returned with Murphy in tow.

“What’s going on here?” he asked, immediately suspicious of the group.

“Your knife was found near where Wells was killed.” Octavia tossed the sharpened piece of metal at him; he caught it against his chest.

“Seriously? You think I killed Wells? C’mon.” he rolled his eyes with a wry a smile and looked to Bellamy for support. Bellamy bored holes into Clarke. An awkward tension filled the room as Bellamy continued his one-sided staring contest. Clarke seemed not to notice.

“Bellamy?” Octavia called out to her brother.

He huffed in frustration, turning to Murphy, “When did you last have the knife on you?”

"I don't know, sometime yesterday." Murphy shrugged. 

Bellamy pressed on, “Did you give it to anyone?”

“No.”

“He could just be lying to save his own skin.” Finn weighed in, as much as they couldn’t prove it, his gut was telling him that Murphy did it.

"This is getting us nowhere" Octavia interjected before Murphy could. The group was silent once again, not sure how to proceed. Bellamy ran his bandaged hand through his hair and came to stand by Clarke.

"I know I'm not your favourite person right now, but I really need you to snap out of this.” Bellamy stood a little too close to her as far as Finn was concerned.

“I wasn’t him,” Clarke stated, still staring at the table in the centre of the tent.

“Like I said, I didn’t kill Wells. Why would I?” Murphy looked a little too smug.

“It’s no secret you hated him, plus you did threaten to kill him in the form of graffiti.” Finn watched his smug smirk twist into a sour sneer.

"Well, the Ark Princess here is on my side so if you're all done playing detective." Murphy slapped the tent flap out of his way as he left.

Bellamy growled, drawing Finn's attention back to him and Clarke. Bellamy took a deep breath, his fingers flexing at his sides. Something about the gesture made Finn feel uneasy. He was certain Bellamy had been behind the removal of Clarke's wristband and the strange mark left in its place. Finn couldn't understand why Clarke would lie to him about it or how she was certain Murphy didn't kill Wells. 

“If Murphy didn’t do it, then who did?” Octavia asked Clarke directly.

"I'm not sure yet." Clarke's eyes flicked to Bellamy for a split second before she exited the tent.

“Now what?” Jasper anxiously fiddled with his goggles.

"We say nothing. We keep this to ourselves until we figure out who did it." Bellamy dismissed them. Finn left the others in search of Clarke. He made his way back to Wells' grave, hoping to find her there.

*** * * * ***

Bellamy lost track of Clarke. She knew something, enough to be sure of Murphy's innocence. The day grew humid. Moisture hung in the air, dampening everything it touched. He wiped the sweat from his eyes as he sat down. The fence had come together quickly.

He caught sight of a commotion by the firepit. Murphy stood surrounded by Connor and a few others. Finn's voice carried over the noise of the camp; an argument had broken out.

“How about you just take your girlfriend’s word for it, I had nothing to do with it!”

"You threatened to kill him, we all heard you. You hated Wells." Finn shouted back at him. Clarke stood off to the side. One look at her and Bellamy knew she wasn't in the present moment. A crowd formed; their suspicious mumblings setting him on edge. He had tried to avoid that exact situation.

“Plenty of people hated Wells. His father was the chancellor that locked us up!”

“Yeah, but you’re the only one who got in a knife fight with him!”

"I didn't kill him then either." Murphy flittered a nervous eye at the growing crowd; he spotted Bellamy just behind Finn. "Bellamy, you believe this crap?"

Bellamy schooled his features into a neutral expression.

"This is ridiculous! I don't have to answer to any of you. I don't have to answer to anyone!" Murphy stepped away from Finn, the crowd moving with him.

"Come again?" Bellamy called out. He had a plan and couldn't have Murphy undermining his control.

Murphy froze under his authoritative tone, “C’mon man, you know I didn’t do this.”

The crowd rumbled around them. Clarke still hadn’t said anything, he looked to her for help but found none.

“I say we float him.” Connor stepped forward. His dark face set in vengeance.

“Revenge isn’t justice.” Finn tried calm tense situation.

The chant of the crowd rose, ‘Float him! Float him! Float him!’ All too quickly, Connor and a few of the other's Murphy had run afoul of, had the snide boy on the ground. Rope and fabric summoned to restrain him as they beat him in the dirt. Bellamy knew he had to do something, but he couldn't act against all of them, not without exposing his powers and not if he wanted them to follow him.

Someone fashioned a noose and all too quickly it was around Murphy's neck. Bellamy pushed through the moving crowd to where Clarke stood. He gripped her shoulders in both hands, trying to shake her from her daze.

“Clarke! Do something!” he hissed, as Finn leapt at the boys trying to free Murphy from their grasp. She blinked rapidly, her eyes coming to focus on his face. For a moment, everything stilled, he felt a gentle nudge as her mind connected with his. A split second was all it took.

“STOP!” Clarke screamed over the bloodthirsty crowd. The force of her voice even halted Bellamy; a shiver ran through his body. The crowd quieted, becoming completely still. Clarke moved through the bodies to get to Murphy. She made quick work of untying him as he gasped, purple-faced, in the mud. "I said it wasn't him!"

“Who was it then?” Finn questioned, helping Murphy to his feet. Clarke scanned the teens around her, finally landing on Bellamy.

“You told her to slay her demons.” she breathed, a strangled sob escaping her, "She did."

A cold fear froze Bellamy in place, "No. She couldn't -"

Clarke nodded sadly. Bellamy whipped around searching for the young girl in the crowd.

“Where is she?” he turned back to Clarke, the faraway look in her eye returned.

“Running away.”

A sick feeling dragged his stomach to his feet. Something in the way Clarke said it tipped him off. Clarke had done something.

“Who are we talking about here?” Finn asked.

"Charlotte," Clarke whispered.

“I say we go get the bitch and drag her back here to face her punishment.” Murphy spat blood from his purpled lips.

Bellamy refused to believe Charlotte capable of murder. His skin prickled as the nausea worsened at the realisation his words had driven her to kill Wells.

“Oh, I see, so when it’s me that’s the murderer you’re all ready to hang me but not a little girl? She’s the guilty one!” Murphy’s vicious snarl brought Bellamy back to the moment. A few of Murphy’s crew gathered around him, backing him up with various weapons in hand. “Let’s go.”

No-one stopped them as they tore into the darkening forest. Clarke remained still next to Finn, staring at the mess of rope trodden into the mud where Murphy had almost hung. Anger propelled his feet towards her. Clarke had incredible power. She had used it as Bellamy feared she could, to manipulate people. He grabbed her roughly pulling her close to his chest. He clamped down on her arms tight in his frustration.

"What is wrong with you?" he seethed, trying to get her to look at him, but she wouldn't, her only reaction to push at his chest. He felt the force behind her hand, enough to take his breath.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?!" Finn grabbed him by the shoulder. Bellamy shrugged him off. He heard the spatter of Finn falling into the mud.

“You and I are going to find Charlotte before Murphy does and when we do, you’re going to fix this.” Bellamy kept a firm hand on her back as he guided her after the others. “Lead the way, Princess.”

**~ One and Half Months After the Accident ~**

The explosion tore a hole through to the exterior of the hull. The SPEC labs remained sealed off for safety. Bellamy stood in front of the airlock with his head resting on the glass. He stared into the dark corridor beyond; the one light left on illuminated the airlock door. Just inside the shadows, the doorway to Jake Griffin’s lab hung open. A familiar tension entered his mind. Clarke's presence filled his senses.

 _The life support system is failing._ Her glossy silhouette hovered in the glass.

“What?”

She rested her left shoulder against the metal door. _My father found the flaw in the system months ago. No one’s been able to come up with a fix so far._

“What does that mean for all of us?” he mirrored her position.

_I’m not sure._

The prospect of dying so soon scared Bellamy. The people of the Ark had survived nearly a hundred years in space while waiting for the Earth to become viable again. To think they’d fall short, all because of a small yet integral system failure.

“How much time do we have?" his jaw clenched, and his fists balled in his pockets. He knew Clarke felt the concern he did; his fear for Octavia flowed between them.

_Six months according to their latest calculations._

"Fuck" he uttered under his breath. Clarke nodded solemnly, “What do you think they’re going to do if the life support can’t be fixed in time?”

_The council are preparing to force an algae bloom but that’s as a last resort._

"What's Plan A?"

_Plan A was for my father to figure out a way to use the stone to fix it._

“What happens to Oct–,” 

_If it comes to that, I’ll make sure she’s safe._

“But then what? We’re in space. We have nowhere else to go, Clarke. Face it; if they can't fix the problem, we're all dead."

_I know._

*** * * * ***

Finn chased after Bellamy and Clarke. Dried mud clung to the backside of his pants, cold and heavy. The sun had set and tracking their movements became impossible in the quickly fading light. It was as if the two had disappeared, there one moment and gone the next. Finn feared for Clarke. She had not been herself lately. He also didn't trust Bellamy with her safety. Not only were they chasing after Charlotte and Murphy's gang, but the Grounders still posed a threat. He stopped near the underground bunker he had found their first day there. The trees rustled gently, and the cool air slipped over his skin. He looked for any sign of movement, a snapped branch, a mark in the dirt but it was too dark to see.

A blood-curdling scream echoed from the west, an area he hadn't explored yet. Without thinking, he ran after it. Voices grew louder. The orange glow of firelit torches shone through the thinning foliage. Murphy and five others, Finn only knew one by name, Dax, stood in a semi-circle. Just beyond them, a torrent of water gushed below the edge of a sheer cliff. Finn stopped just out of sight as they hadn’t noticed him yet. Crouching down, he could see the silhouette of Charlotte’s sobbing form curled up on the ground. He needed a plan; he couldn’t fight them all.

“I’m sorry, please just kill me. I don’t deserve to live.” Charlotte begged as she cried. The pain in her voice spurred Finn’s courage. He couldn’t let her die.

Murphy took a small step forward, bringing his torch down to illuminate her face. Finn could see the tear tracks cut into the dirt on her cheeks. Her neatly braided hair had been pulled out at odd angles as if someone had gripped her roughly by it. Her eyes were closed, scrunched tightly together and snot dripped down her nose, glistening on her lips. Finn ran forwards, determined to get between Murphy and Charlotte. Dax and another whom Finn didn't know heard him. Dax wrapped his arms around Finn's midsection, catching him mid-run. Finn kicked and pulled, trying to fight the larger boy's grip; the other pulled Finn's arms back.

“Leave her alone!” Finn shouted to Murphy, who appeared amused by his attempt to rescue the girl.

“Always trying to be the hero, Spacewalker.” Murphy shook his head and tsked, “This bitch is going to get what she deserves, what everyone thought I deserved!” Murphy tossed the torch to the dark-haired girl standing to his left and reached towards Charlotte.

“No!” Finn continued to struggle against his captors, but their holds were too strong.

“Murphy, stop!” Clarke appeared as if from thin air to their right. All eyes turned to her as she slowly made her way towards them.

"Stay out of this, Clarke." Murphy threatened her. Her face remained an impassive slate it had been since Wells died. Finn marvelled at how numb grief could make a person.

“She’s suffered enough. Look at her.” Clarke weakly gestured to Charlotte, who remained a trembling pile.

“Someone has to pay.” Murphy spat.

Clarke edged towards Finn, everyone moving with her, "What everyone did to you was wrong. I'm sorry I didn't step in earlier; I know how scared you are."

“I’m not scared.” Murphy sneered, straightening to stand a little taller.

"Yes, you are. I would be too if everyone around me had stood by, willing to let me die for something I didn't do." Clarke stopped just shy of Finn, "Please let Finn go." She rested a hand on Dax's arm. Finn fell to the ground he two boy's hands released him.

Charlotte screamed again. Looking over, Finn saw Bellamy trying to drag the girl away from the edge of the ravine. “No! I can’t take it anymore!”

“Charlotte, don’t do this!” Bellamy pleaded as he struggled against the small girl’s flailing limbs.

Finn scrambled to help him. Charlotte heaved herself closer to the edge as the fabric of her jacket slipped from Bellamy's fingers. Finn dove for her ankle. Charlotte fell to her knees and kicked at him hard. He brought his elbows up to shield his face.

“Murphy, please. Let us take her back. We can decide what to do with her once she’s safe in camp.” Clarke continued to try and calm Murphy down.

“Nah,” Twisting back, hand still firming clawed around Charlotte’s ankle, Finn gasped as Murphy lunged at Clarke. Clarke didn’t struggle as Murphy pressed his knife to her throat, “Hand her over Bellamy or I slit Princess’ throat.”

Charlotte forgotten, Finn rolled to his feet, hands outstretched, “C’mon Murphy, this doesn’t have to end in more bloodshed.” His heart thumped in his ears as Murphy smiled. The knife caught the glint of the torchlight as he rolled it teasingly into her skin.

“No one else will be hurt because of me.” Charlotte pitched herself off the cliff, disappearing into the wet fog.

“No!” Bellamy roared, reaching over the edge of the rock but unable to catch her in time.

The gravity of the situation hit them all at once. Murphy let go of Clarke. Finn pulled her towards him. She was in shock, her eyes glazed over. A bright red flashed across her stormy blue eyes. It was gone as fast as it came; as if he imagined it. He figured it must have been a reflection from the still burning torches.

"Woah, Bella-ugh," Bellamy launched himself at Murphy, his body hitting the ground with a dull crunch. Finn could only watch as Bellamy laid his fists into Murphy. Fresh blood dribbled from the corner of already swollen lips. Bellamy continued his pummelling, even when Murphy’s eyes rolled back.

Clarke reacted first. With a surprisingly strong pull, she ripped Bellamy off of Murphy. Bellamy rounded on Clarke, a large hand coming to grip her jaw as he stared her down. If not for the intensity of the situation, the gesture may have seemed intimate. A silent communication passed between the two. Finn felt an odd stirring in the pit of his stomach as he watched them breathing heavily against one another. A mixture of fear and jealously.

"What would you have us do then?" Bellamy pushed her back. She stumbled slightly.

“Banish him.”

*** * * * ***

They left Murphy a bloodied puddle in the rain. Clarke lingered for a moment, uttering a soft apology before following the others into the darkness. It swallowed her whole. The icy chill crept back into her bones. First Adam, then Wells, and then Charlotte; their deaths suffocated her. Banishing Murphy seemed like the only option. She had heard his fear, like an animal trapped in a corner. He couldn't stay with them: he no longer trusted any of them.

Bellamy waited up ahead, leaning against a tree. His hair hung over his eyes, dripping from the rain. “What happened today, Clarke?” his voice ground out like gravel. She stopped just across from him, not sure how to answer, “Charlotte is dead, you did that.”

Tears built hot and unpleasant, pinching her face together. "I know." For the first time, Clarke understood the fear Bellamy felt towards her. He knew the potential of her powers; the pain she could inflict. Now she knew it too. "I didn't mean too." her pathetic whisper barely louder than the soft rain.

“You can’t just control people like that! What gives you the right?” he pushed off the tree, a bright spark flashing across his fierce eyes.

“She killed Wells! I-I was just so angry, and I just wanted her to suffer.” Clarke’s voice started loud but fell in a whisper. It all seemed so stupid when she said it out loud. As angry as she had been, she knew it was something else that made her do it. Ever since Wells had passed, the icy chill in her bones was all she could feel. The warm touch of the minds around her couldn’t melt it. Punishing Charlotte wouldn’t bring Wells back, but it eased her guilt. As if avenging Wells death made up for how she had treated him. 

"You said it yourself. We decide the rules. You did this on your own, you're just as bad as everyone else back there when they wanted to hang Murphy!" his breath heated her skin, his nose brushed hers as the rain continued to wash over them.

“I-I’m s-sorry.” she sobbed, bringing her hands up to his chest to push him away. He gripped her hands in his, pulling her roughly back to him.

“This isn’t you” he implored, “What happened?”

Unsure of how to put her feelings into words, she raised her forehead to his. His mind connected with hers like two magnets colliding.

_She let the frigid darkness seep from her and into him. Adam’s blistered skin and cloudy eyes floated forward, the blood draining from his neck as each breath slowed until his lungs emptied. Wells crawling across the dirt, calling her name. The gaping hole in her chest aching as his desperate calls silenced. Charlotte's desperate apology before she threw herself off the cliff. The howl of the wind in her ears as she plummeted to the water below. The swift end of her life a deafening finality. The bright beacons of life they emitted so abruptly extinguished, it sucked the breath from her lungs and numbed her senses._

“Stop!” he ripped himself away from her as if physically prying apart their connected consciousness. Clarke continued to sob as he distances himself, shivering in the rain. A tense silence stretched between them. Bellamy slowly retreated, leaving her without a word.

Clarke folded into a crouch, her fingers clenching the mud between her fingers. She cried until she had nothing left. The rain stopped just as her tears dried up and she trudged back to camp, hoping to avoid speaking to anyone.


	5. Twilight's Gleaming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for positive reviews. I appreciate your continued patience. The story will be completed as I myself dislike when a compelling fic is abandoned. If you have critiques or notice any inconsistencies, please note them in the comments. Enjoy.
> 
> Disclaimer: All rights and characters to belong to the creators of The 100 (TV series) and Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Time stood still as Charlotte pitched herself off the cliff edge. Bellamy watched, frozen, as she disappeared into the ravine. He barely remembered the decision to go after Murphy. It was all blur until Clarke pulled him back. He rounded, almost unleashing the full force of his rage on her. His charged hand cupped her jaw.

Her voice pierced his mind. _This isn’t his fault_.

Clarke braced herself against him, one hand on his wrist, the other ready to strike as he tightened his hold. She was right; it was her fault. Someone had to pay for all that had happened.

 _Please, Bellamy._ she pleaded with him.

“What would you have us do then?” he shoved her away, unable to look at her.

“Banish him.”

Bellamy promised to kill Murphy if he ever showed his face near their camp again.

The rain pattered against the canvas of his tent. The images Clarke shared with him made a lasting impression. The numbness of her mind deeply disturbed him. The air felt colder than usual. The night darker than before. His heart raced even though he’d been still for some time. Never had he felt such despair, not even after his mother’s death, not even after losing Octavia. The rain slowed, no longer as loud. Something told him Clarke was out there, where he had left her. Part of him wanted to go back and comfort her; another hated and no longer trusted her. When Roma popped into his tent, slightly damp, the latter part won out. He needed a distraction; a mood booster and she would do.

*** * * * ***

When Clarke returned to camp, wet and cold, everyone had retreated to their tents for the evening. A sombre hush fell over their minds; the reality of the day set in. An innocent man almost executed; a young girl found to be a murderer. Finn’s mind reached Clarke before he did. She prepared herself, forcing up mental walls. She couldn’t bear to read anyone after Charlotte.

“Hey, are you ok?” he enveloped her in a warm hug. Her soaked clothes stuck to her skin and dampened his.

“Yeah, I just needed a minute.” she allowed herself to feel comforted. She couldn’t remember the last time someone held her.

“Monty thinks he’s cracked the wristbands, c’mon.” he pulled her by the hand, into the dropship where Jasper, Octavia and Monty all huddled at the back.

Jasper smiled over his shoulder at them, “You’re just in time.” The elevated mood inside the dropship heated the frosted edges of her mind ever so slightly.

Monty readied himself, “Ok, here’s go nothing.”

The sharp zap and burnt electrical smell said it all. Monty fried all the delinquent’s wristbands trying to patch Octavia’s into the dropship communication system. As far as the Ark was concerned, they were all dead.

Finn stormed from the dropship. Clarke watched him go and considered following him.

"Now what?" Octavia slumped to the floor. Without a word, Clarke slipped away. The tent she had been sharing with Finn sat off to the side of everyone else’s, closest to the dropship. Clarke crawled inside and wrapped herself in the emergency blanket she used as bedding. Sleep took her as soon as she laid flat against the cool ground.

_Clarke found herself in the bright white city again. The place glowed, bathed in ethereal light. She stood by the edge of a paved area, overlooking a glittering river. The river cut a silver squiggle through the rich green land, disappearing under a long steel bridge. Turning around, she saw the woman again. Her red dress and dark hair contrasted greatly against the white mansion behind her._

_“Hello?” Clarke's voice echoed as if she were in a cavernous space. The woman appeared not to hear her. As Clarke approached, it seemed the woman could not see her either. The woman stared off into the distance, watching something very far away._

_A thundering whoosh shook the ground. Overhead a smoky white tail soared through the sky, at its head a broiling yellow glow. A fast as it came, it fell beneath the horizon._

_“Impossible” The woman whispered._

_The landscape changed. Clarke stood in a white room with stainless steel surfaces reflecting the fluorescent lights. The woman had her back to Clarke though she looked different. A crisp lab coat replaced her red dress; her hair pulled back in a low ponytail._

_“You can’t be serious, Becca.” A man approached the woman and gestured to the glass chamber in front of them._

_“It is out of our hands, Chris. We don’t own it.” Becca spoke calmly, not as concerned as Chris appeared to be._

_“They can’t just destroy it! We have made incredible progress in the last year. Just because Al--“_

_“It is out of our hands.” Becca cut him off, silencing him with her pointed words._

_A team of men in black military garb entered the room in a synchronised march. As if rehearsed, the four men flanked the glass chamber, and one laid a silver case on the bench next to it. Becca turned to the standing computer to her left and with a few clicks, opened the chamber. The Nexus Stone glimmered from the circular platform it rested on. A pair of silver tongs pinched around the stone and deposited it in the foam-lined case. The lid snapped shut._

Clarke woke abruptly. The tent remained dark. Her ears began to ring, much like they had a few days earlier. The ringing softened to a gentler tone, almost like singing. Something told her to move. She left the tent and followed it. As she walked, Clarke pondered the strangeness of dreams. Somehow, Nexus Stone linked back to them. She knew very little about it, but she knew one thing for sure. The stone called to her. The singing grew louder, a high-pitched mixture of tones, with every step she took. After a few minutes, she came to a ridgeline just south of camp. Below the singing continued to draw her in.

“Hey.”

Like a rubber band snapping, the singing stopped, and Finn stood next to her.

"Hey," she replied, a little breathless from the surprise. Finn smiled though his mood didn't match. He exuded conflict. As naturally as taking a breath, Clarke slipped into his thoughts.

_She’s so beautiful._

Clarke pulled back as if his consciousness burned her. The memory of Charlotte standing next to the cliff edge sullied the small amount of joy his compliment gave her.

“What are you doing out here?” he asked.

“Um, just going for a walk.” she wasn’t entirely sure where she had been going.

“Clear your head, right?” he eased down. 

“Yeah, the past few days have been very…heavy.” she joined him amongst the ferns. He grunted in agreement, his inner struggle continuing. The differing emotions prickled her skin; she found herself longing for Bellamy's quiet aura. Remembering their latest interaction, Clarke squashed the desire. 

“I’m sorry about Wells.” Finn’s kind eyes warmed her the icy chill of death she still felt. She only nodded in thanks, not trusting herself to speak.

“How did you know it was Charlotte?”

Clarke swallowed, trying to relieve her suddenly dry throat, “I found her, standing where he…and she told me.” she had become very accustomed to telling half-truths.

“Why did she do it?”

Clarke shrugged, “Jaha floated her parents.”, offering him the simplest form of the answer.

After a quiet moment, “What I don’t understand is why Bellamy blamed you for her running off?”

Clarke blamed herself too, “I said some things to her, and it is my fault.” Clarke let the tears flow, no longer able to hold them back, “I may as well have pushed her off that cliff.”

Finn slid an arm around her shoulders and squeezed her to his chest, “Clarke you can’t control what someone will do.” she almost laughed, if only he knew, “Charlotte made her choice, and she couldn’t live with it.”

“I could have stopped her, but I was just so angry. I wanted her to suffer.” she liked the feel of his arm, though the circumstances prevented her from enjoying it.

“She killed your best friend, that’s understandable.”

“It doesn’t matter now, they’re both dead and I can’t fix that.” Clarke tormented Charlotte. Somewhere in the recesses of her mind, born from her despair, she trapped the young girl in her nightmares. Clarke feared the unknown limits of her abilities. If she could drive a person to madness in a fit of grief, what else was she capable of?

“You don’t have to fix everything, Clarke.”

They lapsed into a comfortable silence. Finn rubbed circles on her back as she dried her tears. Clarke's chest swelled with bittersweet gratitude. Finn had a good heart however she couldn't confide in him, not entirely. 

“Can I ask? Is there something going on with you and Bellamy? Wells seemed to think there was and I just thought maybe you didn’t wanna hurt his feelings.” Finn tripped over his words a little; nervous energy replaced the conflict.

“No. There’s nothing romantic going on.” Clarke sighed. Once there had been a chance for them to pursue each other only the window closed just before her incarceration.

“So, what is the deal with you two?” he tried to hide his curiosity, to sound nonchalant.

Continuing her pattern of half-truths, “We were…friends once.”

“What happened?”

“I - we disagreed on a few things and then I got arrested.”

Finn opened his mouth; a question stuck on his tongue though he never asked it. He pressed his lips into a line and looked out over the forest. She refrained from reading him and settled on just sensing him. The conflict within him returned, joined by a fluttering of worry.

Clarke reached up and touched his hand on her shoulder, “We’ll find a way to contact the Ark, to let our families know we’re ok. I have faith in Monty.” 

His lips were on hers before she had a chance to think about it. It wasn't unwelcome yet something about it didn't feel right. His other hand cupped her cheek; his lips clumsily moved across hers. An image flashed in her mind. _A beautiful brunette smiling before leaning in for a kiss._ Clarke jerked away from him. Finn's dark eyes searched her face for his mistake. He had a girlfriend, a beautiful girlfriend. One he wasn't planning on telling her about. That was his mistake.

“What’s wrong?” he held her gently, swallowing nervously.

“Nothing, I just-,” she couldn’t think of an excuse. Disappointment clouded her thoughts; she did really like Finn and she knew he liked her.

“You think too much, Clarke.” he smiled fondly and tried to kiss her again.

She leaned back quickly, “No, I’m just-”

“Is this about Wells?” the same caring and understanding expression she had been comforted by sparked a flare of annoyance given the circumstance.

“A little.” Clarke left it at that and shifted from under his arm.

"Hey, I found this. Thought you might like it." Finn fished around in his jacket pocket and held up a pencil in the moonlight. It was an old wooden pencil, painted in a light bluish-green Clarke had never seen in person. She took it from him and stared in fascination. Her fingers itched to use it. "Where did you get this?"

“Art supply store.” he joked. No longer weary of his thoughts, Clarke saw a dark concrete room in his memories. _An old underground bunker littered with the remnants of whoever had owned it._

As the silence stretched between them, a fiery trail streaked the sky.

**~ One Month One Week After the Accident ~**

Bellamy kept a hand clamped firmly over his upper arm. His fingers slid against one another, slick with blood. He breezed through, mostly unnoticed, Alpha station. When he arrived at Clarke’s door, it was already open, her standing just inside.

 _My room_ she hurried after him, pushing him towards her bedroom. As he sat down in the chair by her desk, he felt her probing through his memories of the incident.

_Bellamy exited the janitor’s station. A cadet brushed past him, shoving him with their shoulder. Another cadet laughing, their taunting sneers-_

_“Careful, I could get you floated for that.”_

_“I’ll be sure to say hi to your sister for you.”_

_He took a swing and landed a few hits before a knife slashed down on his arm._

Clarke shook her head, the downward pull of disapproval on her lips, _You could have gotten in serious trouble._

“I know.” he peeled his hand from the wound. After his demotion from the guard, he had faced ridicule from his fellow cadets. Forbes and Michaelson took every opportunity to remind him of his dishonourable discharge.

She inspected the deep cut; _Come into the bathroom and I’ll stitch it up._

"Thanks." he unbuttoned the first few and pulled his arms out of the sleeves as he followed into the small bathroom. Blood soaked the left sleeve, looking more like an oil stain than a bloodstain. Clarke placed a long, flat metal box on the shelf above the sink and began organising the contents. He leant against the metal basin, cradling his arm with the other.

_You being a janitor doesn't make them better than you. You know you'd be working alongside those guys if things had gone differently._

He bit down on his lip, a little frustrated by her mind reading. He had no choice but to be honest with Clarke, “Things didn’t go differently. I got kicked out of the guard and now I’ll always be the guy with the illegal sister.”

 _Octavia will be ok,_ she dabbed the wound.

He hissed as the antiseptic stung deep inside the cut, “You and I both know once she hits eighteen, they’ll float her. They’re just keeping her alive long enough to not feel the guilt for executing a minor.”

 _I won’t let that happen._ As sure as her tone, Clarke skilfully stitched his skin back together.

“You can’t guarantee that. Octavia will be floated, and I’ll spend the rest of my miserable life cleaning up everyone else’s mess. What’s the point?”

Clarke smoothed a bandage over the neatly stitched line. He felt a little ashamed, knowing she could hear his fears. Clarke's hand slid down his arm and came to grasp his hand. She gave his fingers a light squeeze as he teared up. He wiped his eyes, swallowing back the urge to cry. He didn't want to cry in front of Clarke. Her arm came around his chest and she leaned into him. She hugged him, careful not to put pressure in his injured arm. Bellamy didn’t want her to know how lonely he felt, how much her gentle embrace meant to him, but he knew she’d already heard it. Her head shifted, her forehead to his temple. The gentleness of her touch broke something within him. He cried into her chest. Her hands soothed him, and he lifted his face to hers. Their noses brushed, once, twice and then their lips. He lingered on her lips, nervous but unable to stop completely. She returned the kiss, surer than him. As her lips moved with his; she wiped his cheeks with her thumbs. Her fingers brushed through his hair and he placed tentative hands on her waist. With every kiss, a weight lifted from his shoulders, the ache in his chest eased. He no longer felt sad; he felt happy. He pulled back and caught sight of Clarke's eyes. Their usual blue a bright glowing scarlet.

 _Sorry._ Clarke ducked her head.

He laughed, actually laughed. The sound seemed so foreign coming from him, “So, you’ve learnt a new trick.”

She stepped back from, a slight flush to her cheeks. _You’re the first I’ve tried it on._

He smiled, admiring her nervous grin. He liked Clarke. She understood him but in saying that she could read minds. She understood everyone.

As the thought crossed his mind, her eyebrows pinched together. Her nervous grin fell into a slight frown. Their tender moment cooled, the window for another kiss closed.

“Thanks for…” he indicated to his arm, shrugging his jumpsuit back on. He cleared his throat to cut through the tension he felt creeping up the back of his neck.

Clarke just nodded.

“I better go.”

_Keep that clean, let me know if you need anything else for it._

“I will.” he left Clarke as she tidied the sink. The area around the wound throbbed a little and his skin itched from contact with his blood-soaked sleeve. He threw open the front door, only to be stopped short. Dr Griffin stood on the other side, very shocked to see him.

“Bellamy.”

“Uh, Hi Dr Griffin.” he quickly stepped aside to let her pass him, extremely uncomfortable in her presence.

“What are you doing here?” He could tell she was trying to be polite, but her voice had a sternness to it.

“I was, uh, just talking to, Clarke.” he edged over the threshold as he spoke, trying to end the conversation. Her eyes locked onto his blackened sleeve, staring at it a little too long.

He tried to laugh it off, “Who knew cleaning up could get you so messy.”

Her laugh fell flat.

“Nice to see you, Dr Griffin.” He didn’t wait for her response and he pulled the door closed behind him.

Clarke’s laugh sang across his mind. 

*** * * * ***

“I didn’t ask for any of this.”

Bellamy tried to ignore how much Octavia’s words hurt him. Her face, dark eyebrows knitted together, and nose flared haunted him as he ran towards the fallen drop pod. Octavia knew nothing of the sacrifices he made for her, because of her. Growing up, he had no friends for fear anyone close to him might learn of her existence. Half his food went to her every morning and every night. He spent hours hidden away with her when his old friends ran through the corridors of the Ark, laughing and playing. He jumped from one girl to the next, stealing a few moments of pleasure when privacy could be found. He watched his mother stand stiff as a board as one slimy guard after another skimmed her backside with a suggestive comment after surprise inspections. Octavia may not have asked for such sacrifices on her behalf, but they happened all the same.

He reached a clearing after a half-hour of running. His chest ached slightly, and his limbs burned, though he could easily have continued. His stamina had greatly improved after the accident and his time on Earth allowed him to test it. With his feet on solid ground and the Ark still miles above, he no longer feared his powers. He saw a new way of thinking and tremendous freedom surged through his veins. Even if the Ark came down, he would fight back.

The black and white tip of the drop pod was visible as he came over the rise. Nestled in the damp grass, the gentle rain turned to steam on its charred surface. He cautiously approached the pod door and pulled it open with ease. The limp form of a spacesuit hung from the pilot’s seat. A small groan sounded from the spacesuit though the pilot remained still. Bellamy cast his eye over the cockpit and spotted a radio, hanging by a cord of wires from the dash. He gripped the wires and with little effort on his part, they slide from their anchors.

A shallow stretch of the river curved through the brush nearby. He crouched on the bank and considered throwing the radio in. Birds whistled in the trees behind him, the water gently washed over the stone riverbed. The sun peaked out from behind a dark swollen cloud. Despite the peace surrounding him, it did nothing to calm him. As he stared at the radio in his hands, anger grew in him. The cold darkness of Clarke’s mind stuck to him, following him like a shadow. It pained him to admit, even to himself, that he understood why she did it. It only served to infuriate him further. He shivered as the images she showed him replayed in his head.

A guttural yell fought its way out as he hurled the radio into the shallow water. The splash echoed across the river. No radio meant no Ark. No Ark meant no more hiding, no more running, no more secrets. He and Octavia were finally free.

* * * * *

“C’mon, we have to get to that pod before Bellamy does.” Clarke pulled Finn after her, heading in the direction they saw it fall.

“What do you think he’s going to do?”

“I don’t know.” Upon returning to camp, Clarke sensed no trace of Bellamy. It hadn’t been hard to guess his whereabouts.

They ran as fast as they could over the uneven terrain. The moon drifted across the night sky, fleeing the rising sun.

“We should split up, cover more ground” Finn suggested as they neared the crash site.

“Ok –,” Clarke stopped short. A familiar sense washed over her, “I’ll go this way.”

Finn took off to the right and she to the left. The thrum of Bellamy's mind acted like a beacon and soon she found him. He stood on the riverbank basking in the early morning light.

 _A slim black rectangle flew through the air and disappeared into flowing waters._ He turned around, aware of her in his head. She was too late.

“Why?” she called out to him.

“You already know why.”

Spurred by an impulse she focused all her energy. Flickering red encircled her hands and she sent a blast of undulating energy towards him. It knocked him off his feet. He hit the ground and instantly disappeared. His selfishness meant the people on the Ark would think their efforts had failed. Closing her eyes, she focused, listening for him. The muscles of her back contracted slightly, feeling him behind her and she waited for him to come closer. He ran at her and she braced against his coming tackle. He slammed into her, finally coming back into view. Bellamy fell to the ground with her, trapping her beneath his own body.

Seizing electricity flowed through her. Her muscles painfully contracted; her head snapped back with a sharp crack. She dragged her hand towards him; her teeth gritted against the pain. Reaching up, she pressed her fingers to his forehead. In a flash of scarlet, Bellamy's brown eyes swirled to black and he fell to the side. Clarke laid still, catching her breath as Bellamy writhed on the bank, trying to stand. He toppled over as the visions took hold. Clarke watched his waking nightmares, _a crying baby covered in blood and mucus, a guardsman standing in a doorway, Octavia arrested by Commander Shumway, his mother in the execution chamber._ Clarke pulled herself away from the images and released him.

The hatred he felt stung her eyes. She used her powers on him in a way he feared. Betrayal lurked under the surface and she instantly regretted her knee jerk reaction.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” he spat, coming to his feet.

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" she answered in kind, "Do you want all those people up there to die? Just because there's no one up there you care about, does that make it right to let them all suffocate to save your own skin?"

He opened his mouth, pointing a finger at her, only to be interrupted by Finn.

“Where is it?” Finn’s long brown hair fell into his eyes as he shoved Bellamy.

“What?” Bellamy snapped, pushing the shorter boy back.

“The radio, where is it?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“He threw it in the river.” Clarke dusted the dirt off her hands and the back of her pants. It was then she noticed a new presence.

“What?!” A tall, lean girl with dark hair pulled back, emphasising her sharp features. She was beautiful and very familiar. A quick peek into her slightly concussed mind and Clarke's heart stopped for a moment.

_Abby Griffin gripped her by the shoulder’s and pleaded with her to launch the pod no matter what. She clutched the metal trinket hanging off her necklace, the metal twisted into the shape of a bird. A raven._

“You better be joking.”

Clarke snapped back to the present; Raven's doe brown eyes all she could see. She was talking to Clarke.

“Where is it?” Finn asked him again.

Bellamy ignored Finn, more interested in Clarke’s reaction to Raven. “Who are you?” he addressed her directly.

“Your worst nightmare if you don’t give me back my radio.” she spat.

Clarke rolled her eyes, _She’s Finn’s girlfriend._

Like ice on a hot day, Bellamy's hatred of Clarke melted. He laughed, a full-bodied chuckled.

“You think I’m kidding?” Raven stepped forward; hackles raised.

As Bellamy continued, Clarke felt the weight of the pencil Finn in her pocket. It grew heavier with every round of Bellamy's guffaw. A swirl of emotions nauseated her stomach, embarrassment, disappointment, shame.

“Enough!” she snapped, and his laughter died. He stood stunned for a moment, then quickly regained his composure. Her unintentional enchantment reignited his earlier resentment. 

_If she messes with my mind one more time…_

“This isn’t a joke! If I can’t contact the Ark today, three hundred people are going to be killed!' Raven growled, whipping her head between the two. Clarke followed Raven's train of thought. To conserve air and buy time; the council were readying to sacrifice three hundred people. Clarke turned heel to the river, trying to remember where the radio had landed.

Bellamy caught her by the back of her jacket, “Oh no you don’t.”

"You've already got one person's blood on your hands; do you want three hundred more?" she shook him off, but he held firm.

“Don’t touch her.” Finn joined the struggle. Bellamy released her, turning on Finn, “I know you’re the one who removed Clarke’s wristband.”

“You told him?!” Bellamy spoke to her as he kept Finn at bay with a fist full of his shirt.

“No.” Clarke watch the memory unfold as Finn remembered it.

_Bellamy sat by the fire with her broken and melted wristband in his hands. Finn had guessed._

“She didn’t have to. I saw the mark you left on her.” Finn indicated to the fading Lichtenburg figure on the inside of her left forearm. He slammed against Bellamy’s chest, pushing the older boy back, “You stay away from her!”

Bellamy tried to shove Finn back, but Clarke stepped in between them, “Enough! Finn, just forget about it ok.”

“He hurt you, I’m just supposed to ignore that.”

“It wasn’t exactly his fault” Clarke scrambled for an explanation yet came up short.

“What’s going on?” Raven grasped Finn’s arm and pulled him back a little.

“One not enough for you, uh, Spacewalker?” Bellamy taunted.

“Bellamy!” Clarke admonished. 

“Wait, Bellamy Blake? They’re looking everywhere for you” Raven interjected,

“What are you talking about?” Finn asked.

Bellamy turned wary, nervously glancing at Clarke. 

“He shot Chancellor Jaha.”

Clarke tried to appear shocked by Raven’s news.

“You knew about this too?” Finn accused. When Clarke didn’t answer, he threw his hands up in frustration, “Why are you defending him all of sudden, he’s a murderer Clarke!”

“He’s not dead, you’re a lousy shot.” Raven scoffed.

Bellamy disappeared into himself, relief and dread overcoming him all at once. Clarke didn't know what to feel. On the one hand, Bellamy hadn't killed her best friends' father, but Jaha continued to pose a threat.

“Where’s my radio?” Raven asked again, impatient.

“It’s probably halfway down the river by now.” Clarke gestured to the river.

Finn glared at Clarke, “You lied to me.”

“I –,”

“Maybe it’s just none of your business” Bellamy cut in.

“If you touch her again-,”

“What happens between Clarke and I is our business. Maybe you should focus on the girlfriend you already have.” Bellamy fixed Finn with a cold glare. Clarke might have felt touched by Bellamy’s defence of her, however she knew the intention behind it. Finn rubbed Bellamy the wrong way and he wanted to see the lying cheater sweat. 

“What’s going on here?” Raven let go of Finn, insecurity crept into her strong tone. Clarke closed her eyes to the fraught scene in front of her. Emotions not her own attacked her senses from every angle. Fear, shame, jealously and regret closed in on her from all sides. She wanted to scream.

“We don’t have time for this, we need to find that radio.” Clarke flexed her hands and the tension in the air fell away.

“Let’s get a search together, the more people the more ground we can cover, and we might just find it.” Finn suggested, no longer concerned with Bellamy.

“What are we waiting for.” Raven put aside her doubt, the radio again at the forefront of her mind.

“You guys go, Bellamy and I will start looking.” Clarke sent Bellamy a pointed glare which he rolled his eyes at.

Finn hesitated, then turned with Raven as she ran back towards the drop pod.

Clarke sank into the shallow water, not even caring she got wet. Heat bubbled in her chest and before she knew it, she was crying.

“You’ve only known him like a week, you can’t be that heartbroken.” Bellamy splashed down next to her.

"It's not just him. It's everything," she sniffed, "My best friend died thinking I didn't care about him, I had to end Adam's life, I drove Charlotte to suicide, everyone's voices are in my head all time and if that wasn't enough; I keep having these strange dreams about the Nexus Stone!" she splashed the water as furious tears continued.

“What dreams?” Bellamy asked carefully.

She told him, about the woman in the red dress, about the silver city and finally the stone. Bellamy unravelled the bandage around his palm as she recounted the strange visions that also occurred in her waking hours. A line of dried blood crusted black over the cut. He scrubbed it off in the water to reveal the wound completely healed.

"So, it's the same woman is all these dreams?" he tossed the stained bandage on the bank behind them.

Clarke washed the dried tears off her face, "Yes and no." she couldn't explain it. Tthere was something off about the woman when she appeared in the red dress, always in the same location. "The other dreams felt like memories; like I was watching them, but I know I'm not really there. When I see her in the city, she just looks different somehow like I am actually in that place with her and she speaks to me.”

“What does she say?”

“The same question ‘who are you?’”

“How is she still alive then? By the sounds of it, she’d be over a hundred years old.”

"I don't think she is alive, her presence…it doesn't feel like everyone else's." Clarke thought back to the unsettling nature of the presence she had felt when she first landed on earth. She was certain it had been the woman in red reaching out to her somehow. "I think the stone is on Earth."

Bellamy's head snapped back to her, "I thought it was lost, free-floating in space."

“I think it fell to Earth.” The yellow broiling mass streaking across the sky in her dream had her certain, “I think the stone is the cause of all these dreams. I think it’s trying to communicate with me, show me something.”

Bellamy quirked an eyebrow.

“We don’t know much about it. It gave us these abilities, surely that means we’re connected to it somehow.”

“You might be but I’m not. You’re the one with the freaky mind powers.” he grumbled, picking up a stone from the riverbed they sat on, “It might not be anything to worry about, the grounders are a more pressing matter. This woman and the stone aren’t trying to kill us.”

He had a point, “then we look for this radio.” she stood, water dripping off her clothes as she trudged further into the river. The water only reached her calves.

“What’s the point. It’s ruined now.” Bellamy followed despite the fact.

“I still can’t believe you did this. There are other options you know. Earth is a big place, why not just leave when the Ark comes down?”

“And go where? We are surrounded by unfamiliar territory with Grounders hiding in the trees. There’s security in numbers, I can protect Octavia better this way. And you have no right to judge me after everything that’s happened in the last two days.”

He had a point, again. They searched in silence, trawling the water with their feet.

"What will you do? If the Ark comes down." he moved closer to her, giving up all pretence of searching. She hadn't thought about it.

“Not let them tranquilise me again that’s for sure.” she laughed, and surprisingly he laughed with her, "As I said, Earth's a big place. When they come down, I'm not worried. They won't lock me up again.” Clarke felt something solid against the toe of her boot. She dipped into water, hopeful but it was only a dark log, “You didn’t kill him. You’re not a murderer.”

“All the more reason for him to come after me.” Bellamy continued to trail behind her, “We don’t have to be afraid of them. We don’t have to keep our powers secret anymore. We can fight back.”

“It’s still better to keep our cards close to our chest, for now. I don’t exactly want people knowing I can read their minds. Everyone will treat me different.”

“You mean they’ll be afraid of you.”

“Now who’s reading who?” Clarke admitted, “I don’t want people to be afraid of me. I’m not the manipulative witch you think I am. I was angry at Charlotte, I lost control, but I never intended for her to…I just wanted her to pay for what she did to Wells.”

“Show me.” he asked her, resolute. Clarke knew he was serious and she didn't want to show him. She didn't want him to know what she did. He took her hands in his and lifted them to his face.

“Show me. I want to see it.” Bellamy pressed her fingers to his temples and held them there. Clarke nodded, very scared of what he'd think of her afterwards. Reluctant, she remembered the moment and locked eyes with him. Red replaced blue and together they watched.

_Clarke knew Murphy to be innocent. He was an asshole, but he didn't kill Wells. She hid quietly in the shadows. The rest of the 100 milled about the smoking bonfire, all working on securing the camp. She ignored the collective hum, focusing on one person, Charlotte. The young girl stood away from the rest, isolated and alone. Guilt ate at her as she edged quietly out the gates while no one paid attention. Every fibre of Clarke’s being burned with wrath. She moved through the camp, past the fire and the chatting teens, no one took notice of her. Stepping outside the gate, she found Charlotte in the clearing. She stood over the spot her Wells’ blood coloured the dirt._

_“You killed him.”_

_Charlotte jumped violently, tears already running down her cheeks. “What?’_

_“You killed Wells.” Crimson edged Clarke’s vision._

_“How do you know?” Charlotte backed away from her,_

_“I’m good at reading people.”_

_“I’m sorry, I- “_

_“I don’t care how sorry you are. My best friend is dead because of you.” Clarke stalked her, hands moulding tangible energy at her sides._

_Charlotte sobbed, ‘I just couldn’t take it anymore, the nightmares…”_

_“I’ll give you nightmares.”_

_Black clouds swirled within Charlotte’s eyes; her face fell slack for a moment. Something to her right drew the scared girl's focus. A scream built in her throat, but it never came. Visions of her parent's death encompassed her senses, she no longer felt Earth around her._

_Clarke watched as the girl stumbled through the forest. Charlotte may have been young, but Clarke was too angry to care. She killed Wells and Clarke wanted her to suffer for it._

Clarke released them from the memory. Disorientated, she took a moment to adjust back to reality. Her hands rested on Bellamy’s shoulders. The warm skin of his forehead sweated against her own, one hand fisted in her jacket, the other dug into her hip. Breathing became difficult as if the air escaped through a hole in her chest. She shivered even though it wasn’t cold.

“I’m sorry.” she whispered.

“Clarke.” Bellamy squeezed her hip, “Just promise me, next time you’ll step in. You could have stopped what happened with Murphy and you could have saved Charlotte. Who do you want to be, the hero or the villain?”

“What about you, this whole radio stunt feels pretty villainess to me.”

 _How did we get here?_ Bellamy’s internal question struck a chord with Clarke. The man in front of her felt like a stranger. The kiss they once shared seemed a lifetime ago. How did they end up on opposite sides when they once fought together?

Finn and Raven returned with the search party in tow. Clarke separated herself from Bellamy.

Raven splashed over to them, “Find it?”

Clarke shook her head, still unable to look her in the eye.

 _Why did she let Bellamy touch her?_ Finn’s jealously and confusion added to the chaos. The tell-tale signs of tears bubbled uncomfortably in her chest.

Bellamy noticed, “Even if you did find it, would it even work?”

“I can fix anything,” Raven retorted with an air of pride, “but it would take days to dry out all the parts and the Ark is going to sacrifice three hundred people today.”

"Maybe we don't need to talk to them. If we could just signal them somehow…" Finn suggested.

“Flares!” Raven exclaimed. 

**~ One Month One Week Before Earth ~**

Even with her cognitive abilities, Clarke didn’t expect her mother’s question.

Clarke shuffled into the apartment. She spent the day in the science labs, catching up on the work she had missed while recovering. She stopped off at Wells apartment on the way home to say hello. Unable to bring herself to knock on the door, she changed her mind at the last second. Things between her and Wells remained weird. Her mother lounged on their couch with a steaming mug of tea in her hand.

“Where have you been?” she asked. Something in her tone drew Clarke into her mind. Her mother had an agenda. 

“I went to see Wells.”

“Did you? Or did you go to see Bellamy?”

Clarke sighed, “Why would I lie to you.” Upon reading her mother, an air of suspicion surrounded her. Clarke heard the explanation before her mother voiced it.

“Clarke, I caught Bellamy leaving last week.” she tilted her head, the phrase _you cant fool me_ passed in her thoughts.

“You’re the one who wanted me to talk to him, remember. I thought you liked Bellamy.”

“He’s too old for you and I don’t want him here when I’m not home.”

Clarke winced at the assumptions in her mother’s mind, “Ok, relax, nothing happened when he was here. He just needed someone to talk to.” she lied easily about the kiss, though it was only kiss. Clarke forbid herself from thinking it anything more.

“In the privacy of your bedroom? What exactly did you talk about?”

A nervous smile broke across her face. Her mother was once wrong step from giving her an uncomfortable sex talk, “Octavia. He misses her and he’s scared he’ll never see her again.”

Her mother’s teasing smile dropped immediately.

"He's lonely, he used to share his place with his mother and Octavia and now all of a sudden, it's just him. He's actually nice and not the sexual deviant you think he is."

“You’ve been spending less time with Wells these days; can I assume you’ve been with Bellamy instead?” she probed, still not believing her.

"I don't see Bellamy that much. He works odd hours and I've just…kind of been avoiding Wells."

“What happened?”

“He just…I found out he likes me but he doesn’t know that I know and I feel awkward around him now.”

“You don’t feel the same?”

“No.” The mention of Wells brought a conversation to the forefront of her mother’s thoughts.

_Chancellor Jaha stood in their kitchen, shouting “Where is it Abby?!”_

_“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Her mother shouted back. The memory flashed to another._

_Her mother opened a locked compartment in her bedroom, inside an old flash drive._

“Is there –,”

Clarke returned to the moment, her mother none the wiser, “I am not with Bellamy. Wells just isn’t the one for me.”

“You know, you’re always two steps ahead of me these days.” she tutted as Clarke had seemingly guessed her question.

_Her father’s face appeared on a computer screen, addressing the camera, “I have been ordered by the council to keep this information secret, but I feel the citizens of the Ark have a right to know.”_

Clarke faltered at the sight of her father, “Maybe you’re just getting predictable.”

Her mother laughed, “Well, as long as we’re clear, no boys while I’m not around.”

Clarke nodded and hurried to her room. Clarke had found out weeks beforehand of the Ark’s shortened life span. She had no idea her father was going to blow the whistle or that her mother apparently knew too.


End file.
